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 Amazed |
Cojak |
Over the past 25 years my wife and I have been blessed to travel extensively. From San Diego to Nova Scotia, Key West to Alaska and a lot in between. When we started traveling there was no internet and we went to the yellow pages to find the closest COG or another church of interest. That was easy. Then many COG churches started changing their names and it became hard to find OUR church.
Then came the internet, you would be amazed. In New York once we GPS'd to an empty lot. evidently the Church was torn down and the congregation had moved with no forwarding address. IN Florida we went to the address listed and it was now a Baptist Church. That is only two of the many misdirection's which churches should have corrected IF they expected NEW people in town to find them.
Last Sunday was the latest. We were invited by a former pastor to meet at a church in mid Florida near us. WE put the address in the GPS and found a deserted church. From the street i could see a note on the door. The church now was meeting out back. NO POINTERS, a dead end drive beside the church, NO OBVIOUS DRIVE, NO Pointer signs.
That tells me it is a family church and they DO NOT expect anyone new to locate and worship with them. WE did persist and drove around the block
finally seeing a building in a field with three cars near it. NO SIGN what so ever.
It is a beautiful building inside, bathrooms in the foyer and laid out very well, It was a good service, friendly people and pastor. We met and enjoyed our old friends.
Leaving and looking back at the building, a nice white one story building, you would never know it was a church, not one sign saying so. NOTHING saying WELCOME!
Sorry, just a pet peeve I guess...
PS I am not faulting family churches we are finding more and more of them as churches are becoming smaller.
 
_________________
Some facts but mostly just my opinion!
jacsher@aol.com
http://shipslog-jack.blogspot.com/ |
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Posts: 24282
5/8/23 9:00 am
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shaunbwilson |
Did you at least witness when you arrived at the Baptist church? 
It really bothers me that more churches don't tap into those who have a natural talent for noticing the "user experience." There is a certain point when those with the curse of knowledge stop noticing small things, but usually, there is someone in the congregation that has the talent to be able to notice the things you're noticing, Cojack. Not just good outside signage and keeping the website's address current, but also things like cleaning the glass of the front doors with the hand prints from the 5-year-olds between first and second service, inside signage so a new person knows where to take their kids for children's church or go to the bathroom without asking someone, and pictures on the website of an actual church service that shows the range of what people wear at your church because "wear whatever you want" isn't as anxiety-reducing as most people think it is. At a minimum, a pastor could ask a friend who is visiting from out of town to attend church without telling anyone that they know each other and give their assessment. I'd say more churches than not are not visitor-friendly—even when the congregants are friendly to visitors.
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Site Admin
Posts: 3214
5/8/23 3:58 pm
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Cojak |
| shaunbwilson wrote: | Did you at least witness when you arrived at the Baptist church?
TRUE THIS ........... I'd say more churches than not are not visitor-friendly—even when the congregants are friendly to visitors. |
Funny that Baptist thing... Visited a Free Will Baptist church whose pastor was a former COG pastor. Like a couple Baptist churches we have attended I could not tell the difference, coulda easily been a COG! One had a little shouting and a lot of Amens....
_________________
Some facts but mostly just my opinion!
jacsher@aol.com
http://shipslog-jack.blogspot.com/ |
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Posts: 24282
5/8/23 10:22 pm
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| Maybe... |
4thgeneration |
| Maybe they're being inCOGnito.... pa dum dum... |
Acts Enthusiast
Posts: 1603
5/23/23 7:13 am
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Link |
| Cojak wrote: | | shaunbwilson wrote: | Did you at least witness when you arrived at the Baptist church?
TRUE THIS ........... I'd say more churches than not are not visitor-friendly—even when the congregants are friendly to visitors. |
Funny that Baptist thing... Visited a Free Will Baptist church whose pastor was a former COG pastor. Like a couple Baptist churches we have attended I could not tell the difference, coulda easily been a COG! One had a little shouting and a lot of Amens.... |
Or the Baptist and COG both turn the lights out, have smog machines, and a band playing CCM. And there is no prophecy or tongues and interpretation in the meeting. They could have a challenge at the end to repeat a prayer without telling the audience Who Jesus is, that He died for our sins or that He rose from the dead. If the sermon topic isn't OSAS, you might not know if you are in a Southern Baptist Church or a COG (Cleveland.) |
Acts-perienced Poster
Posts: 11849
6/19/23 10:06 pm
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