So for the past few weeks, I have been documenting most of my church experiences. If you have read the past posts you know that they have not been good, at least by my standards. Let me be honest, I believe that the primary purpose of a church service, experience, meeting, gathering, or whatever other term you want you use is for worship. But I also believe and know that Sundays are the main vehicle used by God to draw the unchurched to Himself. I know it can be done anytime, but statistics show this is the most common day. With that being said, I went to a church today that did a lot of things really well.
We went to a church called Northstar Church, and it was a refreshing time. From the very get-go they had great signage in the lobby, very helpful people checking in the kids, a lady that did not just point to where to go with the kids but walked us there. The kids department was obviously using a methodology called “Orange,” which is a brainchild of Reggie Joiner the former Families Pastor for Andy Stanley at Northpoint Church near Atlanta, Georgia. This in my opinion is the best method of kids ministry which combines the power of the family and church. You can look it up to see how amazing it is.
The worship experience for adults was well put together as well. A first time visitor, an unsaved person, or a mature believer would all be able to not only feel comfortable in this service but to gain something from it. It was obvious to me, that this church values the conversion of the unsaved into a relationship with Christ. I was moved many times as they spoke of the importance of beginning of a relationship with Christ.
I can’t tell you how refreshing this church experience was. Not just because the last few weeks have been less than desirable, but because I found a church that values what I believe God values. They are in the middle of Panama City, and our church will be out on the beach so we will be lots of miles apart, but I genuinely hope that Northstar and Baypointe will be able to work together to bring Christ to a community that needs to be affected by His love.
Grace.
Ben
