The Church Hopper

On Sunday, May 22nd, I went to Christian Fellowship Church of God. This is the second time that I had attempted to attend this church. The first time I showed up at 11am because they had no sign to say when their service started, but it was obvious that I was late. So I had to do some online research… 

This church’s facebook page is very active, yet it did not mention anywhere what time their service actually started. I finally found their pastor’s facebook page which led me to their 10:30am start time. 

One thing that stood out to me about their facebook page was their “About” section. They listed this phrase, typed just like this, “A REAL CHURCH With Real PEOPLE Serving A REAL GOD.” My first thought in reading that was, “Where are the fake churches with fake people serving a fake god at?” Unfortunately, I may find one of those soon, so I tried to move on from that.

When I arrived at the church I was welcomed as soon as I walked in. Many folks came over to speak to me and gave me an authentic welcoming feeling. Others came in behind me that were visiting also and I was so glad to not be the only new person for once!

The pastor started the service with the welcome and announcements. Then he called up one of their members and presented her with a certificate, as she had just finished some sort of advancement in the Church of God denomination. Next it was time for several praise and worship songs. They had no musicians present, but their praise singers sang along to recorded music. The singing lasted for about 20 minutes.

Lastly, the pastor delivered a sermon that was close to 45 minutes long. I would really like to be able to summarize his main thought in the next few sentences, but I can not. He had many points and not many of them were connected. It seemed like this was his last sermon – so he must say everything that needs to be said now. He got pretty political in several of his statements which I am not a fan of, but I understand that – that is my preference. I was raised in a denomination where you do not get political from the pulpit so that is what I am accustomed to. He was not afraid to step on toes, which is not always a bad thing. However, I do not think that liberal or centrist political people would feel welcomed at this church. 

After all of his points were made, he transitioned to the closing prayer where he focused on salvation. I think he closed the service in a respectful – not pushy way – which was a breath of fresh air. During all of the prayers, there were many others also praying out loud at the same time, and some were speaking in tongues. This is not unusual for the Church of God, so if you plan to visit one of their churches be prepared for something a bit different than you are used to.

Overall, as a visitor I felt welcomed. I think this church is very active for their congregation size (under 35 people). They have many community and outreach events planned for this year, and I wish them much success.