The Road Church

Yesterday we tried out another church. It was suggested to me by a co-worker when she discovered Greg was a off-roading enthusiast. Apparently a lot of the men in the church enjoy rock crawling and off-roading. There wasn't a lot of information on the church website, but we decided to check it out anyway.

Pulling into the parking lot, Greg immediately noticed the plethora of vehicles outfitted for back roads and rock crawing. He looked like a kid in a candy store. We had a few minutes to spare, so we took some time to drive around the building. Towards the back was a shop area, with tools and materials for "tinkering," as Greg calls it. Further around the corner was another area with piles of used parts, and a couple of hallowed-out Toyota jeeps. It was obvious these church members were more than just enthusiasts; they were hard-core! I told Greg, "if we don't decide to worship here, at least you will make some new friends hang out with on the weekends!" To which he replied, "Well, I hope these Toyota guys will worship with a Suzuki guy!"

Those we met in the church were very kind and welcoming. We sat with another couple, much older than us, in the back row. I am on-call for work, so I need to be in the back in case I received a phone call, needing to step out. We spoke with them briefly before the worship began, discussing their recent move to Tucson, retirement, and their thoughts on the church. They seemed to have enjoyed many things at The Road, including the preaching, the number of families/young people, and the worship services. I observed many families and young peoples, those around Greg's and my age. I was pretty optimistic as the service began.

Overall, we both really enjoyed the worship service. Music was great, led by a worship team at the front of the church. Something that I enjoyed was the lack of lighting in the front of the church. Not having the worship team, or the minister, in the spotlight was a really great. It was a reminder that God is the only One that should really be in the spotlight. I liked that. The preaching was also great. The minister used a lot of scripture, and didn't talk about fluff the whole time. He used some humor, at times just slipping in a joke here and there. There was one thing that stood out as a disappointment for us-no communion. Once again we visited a church that obviously doesn't participate in communion each week. That is something we'd have to look into.

We decided this was certainly a church we would frequent once again next week. I'm looking forward to learning more about the church and their opportunities for involvement and ministry. I saw a handful of ladies my age in attendance, so I'm hoping there will be an organized women's group. We'll see what happens!!