What’s the purpose of church? What do people do when they get together every Sunday? Is it a place where we sit and listen to the Pastor for an hour, where we’re told how to live our lives to be more pleasing to God? Is it a weekly obligation that we blindly go to because our parents told us to? How do people pick out a church? Do they choose a place where they can slink into the back unnoticed, or do they go somewhere for the free donuts and coffee?

I was raised Catholic and considered church an obligation. When I went to college, the only girl that I knew that went to church and had a car attended an evangelical church, so I went, and the first thing the Paster said was if you don’t want to be here, and are only filling an obligation, don’t come. So I didn’t for a long time. The idea that I would someday actually want to go to church was foreign to me, because the churches that I went to before didn’t give me a reason to want to come. I didn’t feel like I was part of a community, I didn’t feel nurtured and I didn’t feel closer to God. If anything, I felt further and less worthy. When I started going back to church, it was because I felt a need to be closer to God and the peace that comes with that.

You can’t get that peace by disappearing into the back pew. Church isn’t a building, it’s the people that come. We come together to help each other, and in our church, we all have a role in that. Our Pastor gives a message that God has given to him that week so that someone hears what they need to hear. We have many people that can pray for needs, welcome new visitors, and even a person that remembers everyone’s birthday so we can sing to them during the service. Everyone’s. And if you miss the Sunday near your birthday, she’ll remember and call you out, even if it’s a month later. We’re a small church, but powerful. Every visitor gets or hears something that they need when they step into Cedar Fork. If you need prayer, you’ll get it, if you need healing, it will come, if you need counseling, someone will stay after to speak with you. There is no animosity, no judgment, no racism, no age discrimination. We learn from each other, joke with each other, we laugh, and we support each other. It’s the most welcoming church that I have ever been to. If you’re looking for a church, I would recommend finding one where someone knows your name in the first five minutes after you walk in. If you’re not looking for a church because of a bad experience with a previous church or a negative interaction with someone that goes to church, give it another try. Our congregation comes because we genuinely  want to be here. Come next Sunday to find out why.

Hear the sermon message here.