All my life I have been a member of a very small church. I’ve always supported the church in the form of donations. This has got a lot easier recently as you can simply text a number rather than dump your lose change into a bowl! Go to https://get.tithe.ly/text-giving-for-churches learn more about this!
The small town church that I have attended since I was in kindergarten has about one hundred active members. This is the little Lutheran church where I watched my Dad get baptized in the eighties and I attended vacation bible school every summer. My Dad is a long haul truck driver and I can remember nights he would drive across the country all night just to make it home by ten A.M. Sunday morning to take his kids to church. I can remember sultry summer mornings in August, walking into church late and having to sit high above in the alcove on the second floor. It was so hot up there in the summer months Dad would often fall asleep and start snoring loudly and we kids would kick him back awake.
Last summer our pastor died after a long illness and it seems in recent months the church has changed a lot and it’s just not the same for me anymore. I feel like I need to find a new church that fits my personality better. A friend who lives in Kauai told me that when looking for Kauai Christian Churches, Lighthouse Christian Fellowship is a great choice for the North Shore. Unfortunately, I don’t live in Kauai but it’s useful to know that sort of thing anyway! Most of the congregation at my old church is older, senior citizens and I would like to find a church with younger people who I can relate to more.
Last Sunday I went to a megachurch for the first time.
It was truly an experience from the moment I was directed in Disneyland like traffic into the giant parking lot.
Yes, they had traffic guards guiding in the SUV’s, crossovers and minivans into this church service at the Harvest Church in Riverside, California.
I have a lot of friends who have attended Harvest Christian Fellowship and I had heard a lot of good things about this church. I’ve heard about Greg Laurie, the Senior Pastor for years and it would be fun to actually see him give a sermon.
From the start of my Harvest church experience I was blown away by just how many people were at this one church. They call this a megachurch and I can see why. The congregation of this one church in Riverside is over 15,000. See why I feel overwhelmed?
Going to Harvest for the first time was like being at a church service, yet being at a rock concert and a standup comedian was also performing (senior pastor Greg Laurie tells a lot of Christian related jokes)
The Harvest Church building was like being inside one of the nice theaters in Los Angeles where I have gone to see musicals like Les Miserable’s or Phantom of the Opera. The whole building looked brand new and state of the art, it’s hard to imagine it wasn’t built under its own church construction management with how contemporary it seemed, and the music that the singers started the service with was really nice.
My church has struggled for years, in a small town, to have a band and to have great singers to lead the congregation in hymns each week. I really enjoyed the music allot. The way the stage was set up with the lighting and the huge T.V. screens showing the lyrics to sing and close-ups of the singers on the stage, it really made me feel like I was at a Christian Rock concert and not at church so much. In order to have such lovely moments within my church that can be celebrated and remembered for years after, donating is an important part of our church community. I was advised by a friend to “read more” into how I was donating, and I realised there was simply a website I was able to donate from digitally, so I never missed a contribution.
As I listened to the message Pastor Laurie was delivering I noticed that no one anywhere around me had gray hair. It seems like everyone at this church was very young. That had to make me smile, to see all these young people, my age and younger who really do love God and enjoy praising him every week.
I see so many people every day who seem the opposite of Christiansand I see the way they are choosing to live their lives, it makes me so happy to see so many young people who are enjoying religion and spreading the word of god to their friends and families.
I really did enjoy my time at Harvest, and I am sure I will be back. I’m just shocked at how big and intense it is.
It’s the small-town girl in me, I guess.
Comments
I went to a rather large church dth, loved the paator and message and younger crowd, but missed the cameraderie of a small church. My pastor didnt know me. Fellow parishoners didnt know me. I tried a small church dth, very friendly and close knit but a 60 year old was too young lol, and it was too…structured. i just havent found a church yet.
Those huge congregations are so intimidating to me. I prefer my smaller, and more intimate synagogue. It’s not the biggest or the fanciest, but to me, it’s the place that feels the most like home.
My sister-in-law and her family recently switched to a similar church. They love it and so do their kids, who are pretty young.
The music fan in me appreciates the concert-like atmosphere you described. Cool.
I went to a mega Church with a friend when I was in elementary school. I remember going back to my priest the next week and asking why that Church had a bigger budget and nicer things than my school.
I’m glad that people are getting what they need out of larger, more modern churchs but it’s so sad to smaller churchs peter out.
I like you. A lot.
I’ve never been a church-goer, but the bigger ones always seemed a little odd to me, but I guess it just a different kind of community. I wonder though if, like Walmarts taking over mom and pop shops, if the megachurches are going to make the smaller churches go extinct some day. . .
When we were in CA the last time, we went with our friends to their mega church. It was insane! A bookstore and coffee shop, playground, teen center, and a parking lot as big as Rhode Island. We were entertained by the music, but it was not my style. Hope you find a church you like!
I’m not a church goer, but when I talk to people who are actively involved in their church or faith, I can see how much they gain from it. It goes beyond just the spiritual and seems to benefit their entire life.
What I like is the fact that there are different options so that people can find the house of worship that makes them feel comfortable. Good for you for trying something new!
Interesting post. I’ve always been kind of curious about sermons given to stadiums full of people. I live in a small town. Although I attend a different church now than I did as a child, I can relate to your first experiences with the small congregation of gray hairs and VBS. I really enjoyed this post and could relate very well. It was really conversational in tone, like I felt I was sitting with you hearing this story. Thanks.
Eh, I’m not a fan of the mega-church. I’ve experienced many kinds of worship, and I’d rather have a small family, but then, I’m the same way about most things, choosing a smaller college…good luck on your search!
I went to a funeral service for a friend at a church like that. It seemed a bit commercial to me, but I appreciate that everyone likes something different!
I don’t go to church anymore, but when I did, it was a small hometown church and that was what I took away from the experience; that feeling of a small, close knit community.