Good Day

So I visited a new church today and LOVED it! The church was in a storefront setting, and seated 80-100 people (maybe less) and it was PACKED! Only a few seats open in the whole place. It was a nice feeling. The worship was wonderful. Very lively, very spirited. The worship team was good, even though the equipment/sound system was somewhat sub-standard. The congregation was WAY into it, too, which was so awesome. There was plenty of vocalizing going on beside just the singing (people shouting praises, praying out loud, etc.). I sang at the top of my lungs and could barely hear myself because everyone else was singing. It was great to experience loudness coming from the CONGREGATION instead of the sound system!! The sound actually wasn't that loud.

After worship, some teenagers got up to give testimonies about the things God had done at a recent conference (they never got around to saying what conference). The first kid got up and shared about how God had healed him over the weekend - of SCOLIOSIS!!! He talked about how a kid who was laying hands on his back actually shouted "Oh my God!" because he felt something move in his back. He mentioned how he was unable to bend over completely, and couldn't reach past his knees, but after this was able to reach his ankles for the first time in his life! It was really cool to hear a testimony like that. The next kid got up and talked about how he felt that God had delivered him from anger and depression (he called them demons). Other kids got up to talk about how God had moved in them, and through them. It was absolutely wonderful. They gave a good 20 minutes or so for them to testify! (The service lasted about 2 1/2 hours). The message was great, very challenging. Basically talking about the necessity of actually DOING SOMETHING with our faith. No one is called to sit in pew! They are also in the process of building a new building (that sounded weird in my head), which is very exciting. All in all I feel that this is a wonderful church, definitely more Pentecostal than any church I've attended in several years, and, honestly, it's refreshing.

I was actually so blessed by the service that I'm planning on calling them tomorrow just to tell them so, and I DEFINITELY plan on going back. I really am praying for a place to get "planted" if you know what I mean. I don't want to just "attend" a church, I want to become a "part" of a church; part of the family; plugged in; ministering where I am needed. I think I can see myself at this church...