We have been actively trying to find a church here since arriving. Surprisingly it has not been an easy task. Churches here are not well marked or advertised--even in the phone books, not to mention the internet. We would find ourselves driving around looking for signs (they actually would have signs stating that a church was down the street), we would pop in at internet cafes (becuase it took so long for us to get hooked up) and try and search some online. They do have different denominations here that we weren't too sure about and what their doctrine is.
The first church that we went to was a small church in a theater and we actually came across it over the internet. It was a good church, but they did not have many programs for kids and for the parents and that was quite important to us. So we started searching again, vowing to go back to that church if we couldn't find anything else.
The second church we attended we also found on the internet. This church was huge. They had thier own complex, a restaurant, a bookstore, and a College on their grounds. It seemed to be a little too much, but we thought we would give it a try. They had a great daycare program for Zech, so we were able to enjoy the service together. The music was more like a rock concert, with the lights, the screens and the show they put on. We talked to one of the Pastors after the service and they actually had a visitors room where some elders from the church would meet with you and talk with you and then one of the Pastors would pop in. We got free coffee and desserts from their restaurant and they gave us an information package that featured a magazine (their own publication), a DVD and various other pamphlets. It was important for us to talk with the Pastors and some of the elders as we wanted to ensure that their doctrine was biblically based and there are some key issues that are extremely important to us and we wanted to make sure that they shared the same beliefs.
We were a little unsure about this church but decided to go one more time. So we went and we prayed about it and asked God to speak to us about this church. Well, we got our answer. The sermon was titled something like "the amount you give (with big dollar signs on the screen) determines your destiny"! We both looked at eachother in shock, but thought ok let's not jump the gun here, let's at least hear what he has to say (this was also the senior pastor speaking). Well after the service we were angry and upset. The message was unbeleivable. I am a fairly young Christian and do not know the Bible as well as my husband or even other Christians, but I knew that this guy was twisting scripture. What he was preaching was complete heresay. I will tell you though that he was a good speaker, a great sales person and there were times where he had me questioning things. This was PROPSPERITY GOSPEL at its finest. Now we know and understand why they have the complex that they do. We were really disappointed and angry!! We saw now how important it is to interview the Pastors, really look into their doctrines, statements of faith and beliefs. We thought that it was really sad that in this day and age we are having to 'church shop'. What is happening to the Christian community??
So we were back to church shopping and by this time we had made the decision to move out of the city to the Gold Coast. So we had seen a couple of big churches during our many excursions to the coast. We decided to pop in and ask some questions. We found a pretty large Baptist church which had been around for a long time. John went into the office and asked some questions and got some information. We then came home and did some research. They were looking for a new senior pastor and did not have some of the programs that we wanted. They seemed really biblically sound though, so we weren't going to write them off.
On our way home from stopping in at this church we noticed another church across the field amongst a cattle farm. My kind of church! :o) We decided to check it out and see what kind of church it was. We pulled up and it really was in the middle of this cattle ranch, but it was a fairly new and large building and they were building another addition. We happened to get a name and it was late so we did not stop in. We went home and researched this church. It was a Baptist church and was a church plant. It was nine years old and had tonnes of programs for kids and families. Their values and belief statements were biblically sound and they also believed in the gifts. This was extremely important to us, we wanted a church that was biblically solid and that believed in the gifts. They have healing prayer meetings and they speak openly about the gifts. So we decided to check them out.
On Sunday we made the hour drive to the church. They had an awesome daycare facility for Zech. We were amazed at the amount of young families. When the kids were dismissed for Sunday school, half the church disappeared. We picked a great day to go. They had a dedication for a sweet little girl Abigail, and they also had a Baptism and I just love watching these!! SO inspiring and amazing to see how God has worked in people's lives!
It got even better. The guest speaker was
Rabbi Greg Hershberg. A Mesianic Jew, who was unbelievable. His sermon was unbeleivable and really challenged JOhn and I in so many ways. Did you know that there are 1.2 million Mesianic Jews! That there are 150 Mesianic Jewish congregations in Israel alone! We had no idea and this was something that he in fact pointed out to us, that most people believe that the Jews do not believe in Christ.
His message was powerful, inspiring and challenging. He shared with us his testimony, which was miraculous (his wife and him were saved on their Honeymoon in Israel by a vision) and he shared with us the hardships he has had to endure and miracualous way that God always provided. He had the whole congregation in tears when he shared with us the miraculous healing of his eldest son Jeremy (as parents we can relate to this so much now and I just kept thinking about our little Zech and how many times we almost lost him and God came through). He is speaking again this Thursday evening about a really interesting topic and this coming Sunday he will be leading the whole church through the traditional Jewish passover feast, just like Jesus had with his disciples. We are so excited for this!!
After the service we were quickly greeted by a wonderful couple who's youngest daughter is two days older than Zech. They were so nice and offered us help finding a new place and offered their house to us if we got stuck and couldn't find something in time.! The welcome committee then greeted us and provided us with a bag of information about the programs, beliefs, etc. of the church. The Senior Pastor then came and introduced himself to us and would like to sit down for coffee with us and discuss any questions or concerns we have.
When we were leaving I grabbed a book that they had on display for everyone to take. The book is called "Answers to the 4 Big Questions", and is put out by an organization called
Answers in Gensis. John has been researching a lot lately about Evolution, Intelligent Design, Creationism, Young Earth versus Old Earth, etc. This organization produces amazing studies and information. This small book is packed full of information and always points it's discussions to the Bible. It is amazing how many Christians believe in Evolution and how many churches believe in it and do not believe in a Young Earth. John is really passionate about this. Yes I know there is lots of controversary around this, but all I will say is that there is so much information out there that corresponds to what is written in the Bible, so much information to back the Bible up scientifically, archaeologically, historically, it is mind boggling. We may not have all the answers but you do have to have faith. We can not put God in a box---He is amazing and has performed so many miracles, so why on earth is it so impossible to believe that He created us and the world we live in, in 6 days?
The point behind this was that this was an important issue to us and we definitely wanted to find a church who took a stand on this issue and stated what it believed. They do not believe in evolution and they support an organinzation (Answers in Gensis) that has been a huge help to us (mainly John). Don't get me wrong though, we both know that these issues will not determine whether or not someone is a Christian or can be a Christian. God knows our hearts and it is by accepting him into our hearts that we become one of His children. However, these questions do come up and the Bible also does state that we as Christians need to 'study to show ourselves approved'.
So to sum it all up, God truly answered our prayers. We found a great church that is solid biblically, places a huge emphasis on families and relationships, believes in the gifts, believes in our mighty Creator and has many exciting courses and programs available to us.
I also want to mention that before we left Canada, John had been researching a lot about Mesianic Jews and went to a Christian book store in Edmonton to get some more information about the Mesianics. They did not have one book, nothing! John had even tried to contact a Rabbi and see if we could sit in on a Mesianic service. We ran out of time, but God is so amazing in how he works. What are the chances of attending a church for the first time that we just happened to see on the side of the road and have a guest speaker that is a Charismatic Rabbi from a Mesianic congregation in the States speak. Wow, God is amazing and He does answer prayers.
We still need a lot of prayer though. We are looking for a new place to live. We already gave our notice without having a new place to go. I know that seems kind of silly, but we do have faith that God will help us and provide for us. We also have so much paper work to complete and so many questions and details to work out about work, daycare, school, etc. SO PLEASE, keep us in your prayers. This has been a really difficult month and a half for us and we could use all the prayers we could possibly get.
God Bless and sorry for the long winded post--and lack of pictures! I really wanted to share this with everyone though!!
There are many walking paths along the river.
The express motorways along the river, quite the complicated drive--especially the downtown!!
