Baptist Church Hunting

Josh and I have been trying to find a church that meets both of our needs and that we both enjoy. When he comes to visit me in Littleton, we usually attend my church, Denver Community Church, which I love. He's not opposed to the church, but there are some things that he doesn't agree with. We've scoped out a few churches in the Littleton area, but so far we haven't found one we both like.

Josh was born and raised Baptist, so he's really keen on finding a good Baptist Church. He especially wants a Baptist church that preaches from the King James Version of the Bible. So this past weekend when I was visiting him in Greeley, we opened up the yellow pages to see what we could find. In bold letters, we found Greeley Baptist Church with the advertisement: King James Version! Josh was sold.

I had not packed for the occasion; I only had jeans to wear. At my church, jeans are acceptable. In fact, if you wear a dress, you're a little out of place. Another fact: my pastor wears jeans, has tattoos, and preaches from the New International Version. Not so much at a Baptist Church! I dressed in my jeans, with Josh telling me I was going to feel a little out of place. Sure enough, he was right. I was the only one wearing jeans. All the other ladies were wearing skirts. Oops.

I also brought my coffee in with me. At my church, they hand out coffee as you walk in the door. If you don't have coffee in your hand, you feel a little out of place. At this place, I was the only one with a coffee in my hands. Oops.

I didn't have my Bible. Josh had his King James Version in his hand, but the only thing I had in my hand was, yes, my coffee. At my church, the provide Bibles for you. At this church, I was the only one without a Bible in my hand, and yes, just a coffee. Oops.

However, despite these Baptist Church faux pas, every single person in that church made us feel so welcome. From the moment we walked in the door, we had people introducing themselves to us. People welcomed us with open arms. I have never in my life felt so welcome. We got hugs. We got handshakes. They genuinely wanted to know about our story. Where did we live? What did we do? We obviously were the stars of the morning. We obviously were newbies, too. The pastor even came down from the stage to welcome us personally. The music leader came and spoke to us. Nearly every single person in the sanctuary greeted us It was great. During announcements, the pastor personally introduced us to the congregation and made sure that we got a welcome card.

Josh was ecstatic when they sang hymnals from a hymn book! He belted it out, and I giggled at his enthusiasm.

After the service, more people came to meet us. They welcomed us to come back and reported how glad they were to have us there. Josh and I left with a smile on our face and a warm feeling in our tummies. And then we did what all Baptists do after church (according to Josh): we went to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

I'm not sure that this church will be our home Greeley Church, but it was nice to visit a place that made us feel so welcome. We're going to try out a few more places, but this place definitely made an impact on us and made us feel like we really belonged among them. I wish every church could be like that.