Finding Your Church Family
April 15th, 2008
When I first came to EMU, I didn’t even think about where I would go to church because thoughts of studying and making friends filled my mind.
But when Sunday rolled around, I panicked! Where was I supposed to go? How would I get there? What time does church start? Would the people accept me?
Fortunately my roommate’s older sister had a car and was a junior so she had experience with the area churches. Great, I felt safe again. But then I realized that if I wanted to find a church that I really liked I would need to take some more time and start visiting different churches.
So, I spend most Sunday’s during first semester branching out and variably went to six Mennonite churches including Zion, Lindale, Weaver’s, Community, Immanuel and The Table. Then when I came back from Christmas Break I realized that I missed some of the people at certain churches and the messages that they shared. So I started to mainly attend Zion and Weaver’s churches.
I think that it is important to find the church that you enjoy, feel accepted in, and challenges you to think about your faith in new ways. I also think that it is important to find a church that you like and do not just attend because your friends or family attend there. It is really nice to have that stability when you are away from the life that you were previously accustomed to.
So, put some thought into finding a church while at college; it is helpful to get involved in a faith-based community that will support and encourage you.