Protesters
@just4him (317315)
Green Bay, Wisconsin
June 19, 2016 11:31am CST
I'm in the right place today.
For the past several months I've been going to a good church. I was part of the AWANA ministry, and the pastor preached a good message. I can't fault the church. However, I can find fault with the people who didn't go out of their way to say hi to me or get to know me. In six months of being a regular attender since my leg healed, I don't know anyone's name outside of five people. I never felt that I really belonged.
Yesterday I determined I wasn't going back. I didn't know if I was going to go to church this morning. However, I did do a church search yesterday, and I found one online that seemed to fit the bill.
This morning, I decided to go. Mostly for one reason. I can't not go to church. So I got there, without getting too lost. I passed the turn, but I didn't keep going on down the road until I figured out I was going the wrong way because the map I looked at said it was the first turn. So I turned around and yes, found the right street to turn down and found the church with protesters out front.
Now if you ever want to find a new church and you're not sure whether the message you're going to hear is right on, look for the protesters. Satan will plant them wherever the Word of God is being preached.
I walked in to a new church and new friends. People introduced themselves to me right away. I met the associate pastor almost right away, and during the greeting after the first song, the pastor introduced himself and welcomed me. Then it happened.
My spirit came alive by the evidence of the Holy Spirit in the service. A message in tongues and the interpretation of it. I'm alive again. I feel rejuvenated. And then the word just solidified the fact I had definitely found my new church home.
If you've been praying to God and not feeling like he hears you or listening to your pleas. You have hit a mountain, but God is tunneling through the mountain with your answer. So just wait for it. It's on its way.
The message was a lot more than that. It was a message on the Fruit of the Spirit, namely Self-Control. It was running the race with a purpose and knowing your purpose.
So the protesters who claimed I was on my way to Hell for even daring to go into that service showed me I was in the exact right place God wants me to be. I met several people, and in the coming weeks I will get to know them and a lot more as well. It's not a large church, small and perfect for my needs and my growth as a Christian.
Have you met protesters and opposition in the past weeks who wanted to derail your life in Christ? You're in the right place.
Thanks for reading.
11 people like this
12 responses
@DeborahDiane (40322)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jun 16
@DianneN - Now that you mention it, we have lived near several synagogues, both when we lived in Texas and now, here in California. One of my son-in-laws is Jewish. I have never heard of anyone protesting a synagogue. It's almost embarrassing how hateful some "so-called" Christians can be! 
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40322)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jun 16
@JudyEv and @just4him - I find it heartbreaking that no one tried to be friendly. Our church takes a few minutes every week for people to shake hands and introduce themselves to the people around them. After a few weeks, at the very least you get to know the people who tend to sit in the same part of the church as you do. The first time we attended our church, the woman who is in charge of the church music opened a window next to us, introduced herself and then said, "Make yourself at home. If it gets chilly during the service, just get up and close the window." I was immediately in love with the church!
2 people like this
@just4him (317315)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
20 Jun 16
@DeborahDiane That's great! We shook hands, but they wouldn't give name, except once in a great while, and nobody asked me mine. Huge churches just aren't what they need to be in the community.
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Jun 16
not yet but i have been thinking of reaching out to a pastor to see if anyone wants to come out and spend time talking about such. for i can't go any where right now
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (160998)
• United States
20 Jun 16
@bunnybon7 asking is free and how a pastor or lay person even responds, how the church responds is good evidence about whether they are serving God and caring for people in need..
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
20 Jun 16
I know it's hard to leave a place and start over, but sometimes if the fit isn't right, it just isnt right
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
20 Jun 16
@just4him sometimes nothing we can do other than move on
2 people like this
@just4him (317315)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
22 Jun 16
@Jessicalynnt True, and I moved on.
1 person likes this
@just4him (317315)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
23 Jun 16
They were protesting the kind of church it is and telling all who saw them that anyone who worshiped there was going to hell. They basically go around to all the churches that preach the Word of God without apology or watering down the Word and making it acceptable for itchy ears. So I knew I was in the right place. I don't want my ears tickled. I want to hear the Word of God as preached in the days of Paul the Apostle or the Apostle John and Peter. Last night's prayer service was awesome!
1 person likes this
@just4him (317315)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
23 Jun 16
They were protesting the kind of church it is and telling all who saw them that anyone who worshiped there was going to hell. They basically go around to all the churches that preach the Word of God without apology or watering down the Word and making it acceptable for itchy ears. So I knew I was in the right place. I don't want my ears tickled. I want to hear the Word of God as preached in the days of Paul the Apostle or the Apostle John and Peter. Last night's prayer service was awesome!
2 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
20 Jun 16
i attend the Sunday mass but i only know some and not the whole church per se.
2 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
21 Jun 16
@just4him definitely. but we all belong to that one church where we acknowledge the Almighty as the reason of our existence
2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
20 Jun 16
thats why I left the Sev enth 'day 'adventist church because novbody made me feel welcome and one snooty ladyh told me afte I userd the drinking fountainthat my fdress was too short and I should not wear jeweletyl My dress was be;pew my kneesand my jewelry was just costume. I went back to methoidist church where peope welcomed me back.l
2 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (50561)
• United States
19 Jun 16
Glad that you found a new church home.
2 people like this
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
22 Jun 16
I have been "in and out" of my local church for the past few years.
I actually get uncomfortable when someone try to talk to me.
There's a vigil I go to every sunday, where I feel the priest had more zest than the others.
But ya, I usually leave right away after the mass
2 people like this
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
23 Jun 16
@just4him I talk to other people fine just not fellow church goers
@DeborahDiane (40322)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jun 16
I have to say that our church is very peaceful. We even welcome the homeless people in Laguna Beach, who often can be found napping on the benches in the church's rose garden. No one protests our church and we are very welcoming to all. If you are ever visiting Laguna Beach and want a church to visit, I hope you'll consider Laguna Beach Presbyterian. It is very warm and friendly ... and I am the granddaughter of a Pentecostal Church of God minister, so I know exactly what you mean about the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. The gifts you'll find in our church are different, but just as powerful.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40322)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jun 16
@just4him - I hope you get to come here someday, too ... and we can get together for coffee or tea!
1 person likes this
@just4him (317315)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
21 Jun 16
@DeborahDiane That would be great!
1 person likes this
@RonElFran (1214)
• Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
22 Jun 16
It's a shame that an otherwise good church forgot that "the fellowship of the saints" is a fundamental part of ministry. As you found with your new church, if members make newcomers feel at home it makes a huge difference. And it's the responsibility of the pastoral leadership to both teach and model that.
2 people like this
@just4him (317315)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
24 Jun 16
It is a shame. It makes a newcomer feel unwanted when there's no interaction. When I started at this church on Sunday I felt welcomed right away. I knew more people by the end of the service than I did at the last church, and Wednesday prayer service was totally awesome. I'm welcome there and I know it.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
20 Jun 16
I'm glad you found the place you feel good in.
2 people like this
