Church Search

 

When we moved to Mississippi we knew we wanted to find a church right away.  We have gone to several different churches over the years and know how big of a blessing church friends can be.  My husband spent a lot of time researching denominations, churches and locations to help create a list of churches we wanted to visit.  I helped a little, but mostly put him in charge of this task.  We both visited a ton of websites to read more about the neighboring churches and some definitely seemed like a good fit for our family.

Our wish list in no particular order:

1. A church where we would be blessed and be a blessing.

2. Good nursery set up for Olive & children's ministry

3. Close to home

4. People our age / young families

5. Women's activities going on during the day

6. Small group options for couples

7. A church that is very Bible centered

8. A welcoming congregation

We picked a church to start out with and made all the plans to be there on Sunday morning.  I was VERY apprehensive about dropping Olive off in a nursery full of strangers (kids + adults) so I definitely had to pray and trust that she'd be in good hands.  I packed her little kitty backpack with necessities, put her in her Sunday best and talked to her about how nurseries work.  We had only left her with family and close friends so it was going to be a new experience for both of us.

We woke up early on Sunday, ate breakfast and got ready for church.  We planned to be early for us to get Olive situated in the nursery before church.  The greeters did their job and pointed us in the right direction.  We signed her in and grabbed a baby pager.  The nursery director found us and lead us to Olive's classroom.  There were 4 adults and 4 babies.  Good baby/adult ratio!  We introduced ourselves to the teachers, filled out a care sheet about allergies and baby needs and met the other kids.  The place seemed clean, fun and welcoming.  We handed Olive off and quickly scooted out.

We rounded the corner, tears welled up in my eyes and Kevin grabbed my hand.  He assured me she'd have a wonderful time and that we would, too. Church lasted less than an hour.  I kept my baby 911 pager on my belt just in case.  I think I was expecting to get paged figuring Olive would be clingy and/or needy since she was in a new environment.  Turns out, I worry too much and I'm the clingy/needy one :)

Olive did great!!  She played with the other kids and interacted with the adults.  She started crying when the other little ones were getting picked up but that was it.  Her teachers said that she had lots of personality, played with the other kids and shared her toys.  We were beaming!  Our baby girl is becoming more and more independent and we were so proud of her. 

We enjoyed the church service.  The people were very friendly and the congregation was small enough that people noticed we were new.  It seemed like a great church that met many of our wish list items.  We filled out a visitor card and have since heard from the pastor and women's ministry team.  We will definitely be going back this coming weekend to check it out again.

Overall, the church search process is a bit draining, but I know it's crucial for us to settle in and make friends in Mississippi.