Thought of the Day

My heart is and will most likely always be in my church in Californina. Everything about this church was fantastic. The congregation was quite large, large enough for two services on Sunday mornings. The congregation was a perfect mix of young and old. There were several different bible studies to choose from. They offered Sunday school before church for both children and adults. They had a singles group. The pastor was amazing; he was a man from whose sermons I learned so much. The music was phenominal.

When I moved to Massachusetts, I was on a quest to find those things in a church again. The only thing I was able to find that somewhat resembled my church was the music. In Salem, MA we belonged to a church that had an amazing praise team. Gone, however, was the large congreation with a mix of young and old, the many bible studies to choose from, the singles group, the Sunday school, and tha amazing learning experiences.

We have since moved to a small town in New Hampshire. I have yet to find a church that offers any of the things I so long for. I've heard rumors of such churches 45-60 minutes away, but my dear and darling husband does not want to drive that far each Sunday. I don't blame him; it is a long drive and with gas prices these days....

As I was sitting in church today, I looked around at the congregation. The majority of the people sitting in the congreation were much, much older than my husband and me. Don't get me wrong, I really think we all have things we can learn from this generation. They are all very nice, warm and welcoming. What struck me, however, was that the church as a whole really needs to do something that will attract more younger people. If they don't do this, the church will not be able to survive. If things don't change, the church will be forced to close its doors in 10 years or less.It's such a sad thought, when you think of a church closing it's doors.

My prayer is that those people in the congregation that are opposed to change will step back and see that change can be a positive thing. That they will see that change is necessary to continue the life of the church. That change doesn't need to be radical. That change can be adding a couple of praise and worship songs to the service. That change can be adding a personal and thought driven prayer rather than the whole congregation reading a prayer from the bulletin. That little steps of change will have an enormous impact on the church as a whole.