FIVE MORE TYPES OF CHURCH

Depending on where and when you grew up church might have been something your family invested a great deal of time in.  You may have walked away for a few years, but now your back, and are looking for something bigger than yourself.  If choosing a church, here are more things to consider.

        More Types of churches

1  The stop over church- This church is usually smaller, and has few long-term or regular members.  They tend to rely heavily on sermon series's or particular types of preaching depending on when and where they started.  Most people who attend this one are either leaving one church and deciding on another or church shoppers.

2  The church that bucks conventional trends- This one either split from a larger church to give people a much more intimate setting, or they've just done things right, and while the church down the street sees less and less of a congregation, this one has seen a bump.  This church decided years ago they wouldn't go for gimmicks such as having a four screen theater or a pool room, but whatever they do seems to work.

3  The revolving door church- This one shape shifts for lack of a better description.  They often rely on word of mouth, but at the same time they don't know how to keep a steady membership or pastor.  They started out around 1981 as kind of new age, once people bored of that ten years later they went to fire and brimstone.  Now it just depends whose there as to what they will do.

4  The moderate church- This started some time in and around the mid 1970's, largely with the baby boomers who might have left their strict conservative churches they had been brought up to attend, or they were ex-hippies looking for something.  The teachings of these ones are not "I'm OK your OK." but they aren't overly filled with strictures.  People feel comfortable with this more hands off approach, but they like the fact that a good message of neither one extreme or the other is taught.

5  The Community Activist church- Often a product of the inner-cities this church thrives on getting out there, rolling up their sleeves, and really meeting the needs of the community.  Meeting people where they are is the name of the game here.  On a personal note this is the kind of church I attend.  We want total member involvement.

Gillie