Church on Sunday

I remember when going to church on Sunday was a chore. My parents would wake us up early, put us in nice clothes, and then I had to sit through Sunday school and service. I used to envy the kids who didn’t have to wake up early on the weekend. I loved sleeping in and felt it was unfair that I only got one day of the week to do it. My love for sleep would trickle into service. If the pastor had a soothing voice or made points I didn’t grasp, I’d close my eyes and take a little nap. I wasn’t getting much out of those services.

When I moved out of my parent’s house in 2018, I stopped attending church. I had some negative experiences with church people, as often as people do, and I told my parents “I love Jesus, but church isn’t for me.” I felt like church was an obligation that I could opt out of. I didn’t have a place or a home at church. I did when I was younger, but the older I got the more foreign church people became to me. I was angry at the church. Assuming, like most, it is full of hypocrites. Also, in my pride, I thought there was nothing more I could learn about God by attending church.

God has been working on my heart tremendously. I’ll have to fill you in with other blog posts later, but for now, I’m just going to focus on the topic of this one- Church on Sunday.

In January of this year, my parents and I started to attend a church called Northridge. I was a skeptic at first. Going to church was really a way of guaranteeing I’d see my parents every week. They also agreed to pick me up because my house was on the way. The church had these things called community groups. Whoever was speaking would always encourage us to get connected and join a community group. The church was also super tech savvy having an app to download to take notes and get information. I was a little overwhelmed at first by their flashy presentation for worship. Felt sometimes like a concert more than Sunday service worship. But I kept attending.

The cool thing about Northridge is that there are so many people volunteering, loving God, and wanting to serve, that you don’t get forgotten. I had shared my email beginning of April because I was interested in joining one of these community groups. I have a hard time trusting people and making friends, but God was putting it on my heart that I needed to get connected. I had someone reaching out to me in an email so quickly, I was shocked. I thanked the lady for reaching out but told her that I was not going to join a community group until I finished my Healing Journey class end of April. (I’ll share more on that in a different blog post too.)

The end of April comes and lo and behold, the lady reaches out to ask me if I’m ready to join a community group. Once again, I was shocked that she even remembered. I felt so loved and wanted just from a simple email. I did end up joining a community group, and I’m very glad I did.

On August 14^th, I had a decision to make. My parents were out of town, and I had to choose whether I was attending church alone. It was at that moment I realized going to church on Sunday was no longer a chore. It was actually something I looked forward to. I love being surrounded by other believers who raise their hands to worship. I love the songs they sing that remind me that when I’m in God’s house, my shame can be left at the door because it is not welcome. I love the messages that really capture my attention and leave me with something to think about. I love the atmosphere of acceptance and belonging that the leaders of the church diligently express.

Every Sunday, we are greeted by whoever is speaking with “Welcome Home”. I’m so thankful to have found this home.

I am volunteering in the Kids' ministry, and I’m on the road to becoming a member. I invite anyone who is looking for a church to check us out at Northridge the Rochester campus on St. Paul Street.

The church is for people who need love, want to belong, and have questions about God, salvation, and Jesus. You don’t have to be perfect to attend. You don’t even have to be saved already to attend. Just check it out. See what feelings you get or observations you make. You might find yourself a whole new church family.