Search for a Church
Search for a Church is the name I gave to the quest my wife and I undertook to find a faith community upon relocating to a suburb on the North side of the Dallas-Fort Worth (D/FW) metroplex in 2015. Our search took awhile – 17 months to be exact.
The experience involved worshipping in 36 different Mainline Protestant congregations within a reasonable driving distance from our home. It concluded in February 2017, when we joined not one but two congregations.
(For more on that experience check out Our Search for a Church is Over, which includes links to 17 other posts sharing many a #ViewFromThePew as well as details of our experiences).
Heading South
Just 10 months after our search ended I was invited to serve as visiting minister at a Presbyterian (PCUSA) congregation. What started out as a very short-term opportunity ended up lasting for four months. During the time I was serving in that capacity, my family relocated within the D/FW metroplex moving 42 driving miles away to downtown Fort Worth.
(For more on my stint as a temporary pastor reach My Last Day at WFPC. For more on our move, click through to New Year, New Home.)
Search for a Church v2.0
This move provides us with another opportunity to search for a church.
I’ve decided to call the 2018 edition of Search for a Church “version 2.0.” The new version looks quite a bit like the original, but also includes some significant modifications designed to shorten the process.
Search 2.0 started on Easter, and will include visits to 10 Mainline Protestant congregations. Since we are now in an urban area, I shrunk our geographic search area from 20 or so miles to less than 6. We can reach all congregations on our list in 15 minutes or less by automobile on a Sunday morning, and can reach a few in 10 minutes or less walking.
So What?
Most of the followers of the Way of Jesus I know look for a new place to worship and serve when they move to a new community.
For most of my adult life, I lacked such experiences since my prior “search for a church” activities were all related to my professional pursuits in congregational ministry. Now, however, I’m happily employed as Director of Social Enterprise at the Mansfield Mission Center. This change both allows me to actively participate in the life of a congregation while also providing me freedom to serve other faith communities on a short term basis.
As my wife and I continue our latest search, I treasure your prayers and welcome any words of wisdom you wish to offer.