During my stay in New Jersey for this past summer, I got to evaluate the churches in the area and really see how God is working through the different congregations. The first church I got to attend was the Tuckerton 1st Presbyterian in Tuckerton, NJ. It's a medium bodied church - filled with beautiful stain glass windows, a large wooden cross centered neatly in the front, and a beautiful pipe organ tucked in the left corner. The members of the congregation are causally dressed and the reverened wears a black dress. Although I was not accustomed with a female preacher, I thought the message was informative and scriptural. The best part of the service was partaking in the Holy Communion, or Lord's Supper. The pastor explained the meaning of taking in the supper, and sang a beautiful hymnal to the audience. The supper was intersting. Rather than pass out little plastic cups of juice and round crackers, the congregation lined up to walk up front, tear off a piece of bread from a large loaf and then dip the bread into a large cup.
I attended another Presbyterian church in East Hanover, NJ, called Kitchell Memorial Presybterian. This congregation was similar to Tuckerton's (small quaint atomsphere with friendly fellowship, female reverend, structure of worship, et. al). Overall, my NJ Presbyertian experience was informative, but yet somewhat disappointing. Although the PCA (Presbyterian Church of America) has some disagreement about women being head of a church, there are many congregations that are very biblical in allowing only men to be elders and pastors as instructed in the book of Acts. I did gain some insight on a few things I could encourage my home church towards. (1) The Kitchell Memorial Presbyterian church had a moment for the members to share what God is doing in their life at that moment and also share any praises or prayer requests. Passing a microphone around, many congregates talked about their personal issues as well as how God has blessed them. When it got to me, I simply welcomed myself as a visitor from Arkansas wanting to see what God was doing in the lives of people in NJ. I was flocked with questions like "what is Arkansas like?" and "are you a reverened?". (2) The fellowship and the method involved (saying "Christ be with you" or "Peace be with you" to one another) is very humbling.
Wanting to go more conservative, I attended a Baptist church called Calvary Baptist in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. As a much larger congregation, I found the neatly designed church not as subtle as many of the Orthodox churches I've attended. With big screens and fancy electronics, the church atomsphere was geared towards the contemporary crowd. The fellowship was not as open; members stayed in their general seating area and said their 'hellos' and chatted for a brief while. One could hear members talking about Aunt Sally's health to how bad the crabbing has been. I could tell people did not know I was a guest; as the congregation was numereous. The worship through music was a mixture of traditional patriotic songs (attended near July 4) with some typical songs by David Crowder and Third Day. The pastor, Mike, gave a powering message over the social issues in America such as homosexuality and euthanasia. I would have hoped to hear more about Jesus' gospel and how it applies to these issues. The service did take a humbing twist at the end. The entire congregation all held hands in a big circle in the church and sang a benediction.
I gained some insight from Calvary's church in that they had great mission field oppurtunities. I liked hearing Pastor Mike talk about the lost in their own small towns and area cities, and how they wish to reach to their needs. Although theologically I did not line up directly with Calvary compared to the Presbyterian churches (excluding female pastoral lineup), I enjoyed the two times I attended the church.
Overall, I would rate my church experience combined at an 80/100. I know that there is no such thing as the perfect church. I think Calvary Baptist is a great place for a conservative christian to dig their hands into the mission field. Those Presbyterian churches would most likely not attract younger adults like myself but rather an older crowd. I truly believe this 101-type of experience I got was very informative and such a blessing. I encourage folks to seek out and visit local churches to see what God is doing there.
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