Visiting: As a student of religion, I've seen how various factors in a church visit affect spiritual growth and religious attitudes as one searches for a church home. I visit churches to observe, firsthand, how they present themselves to visitors. My visits, with a few exceptions, focus on Christian churches. This blog contains accounts of those visits, and related posts. I look for the following in my visits:
• Friendliness and warmth
• Genuine welcome, true Christian hospitality
• Effective, well-delivered bible-based main teaching
• Music deepening the worship, not just entertainment
Map to churches I have visited.
My email: churchvisits@gmail.com
Chris Thompson, an amateur biblical scholar and student of religions, is a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society for Biblical Literature (SBL). He enjoys AAR/SBL where he studies, first hand, with worldwide religious scholars. A management consultant, skilled in all aspects of 360-degree feedback programs and human resource management systems, he practices these skills as Workforce Consulting. He lives in Anchorage.
ON THE WEB
Google map with visited churches
As I visit churches, I'll post their locations on this map.
Central Lutheran: Warm and Caring - 11/3/2009 10:10 am
Anchorage Bible Fellowship: Not as Hidden Now - 10/28/2009 11:11 am
Anchorage Bible Fellowship: Hidden on Elmore - 10/18/2009 1:51 pm
Church Experiment Reduces Sanctuary Noise - 10/11/2009 9:59 am
St. John UMC: Evening Service Option #4 - 10/4/2009 5:03 pm
The Power of One - 9/26/2009 10:24 pm
ChangePoint: Evening Service Option #3 - 9/19/2009 8:59 pm
Cornerstone: 2nd Visit - Still Solid & Welcoming - 9/12/2009 10:21 am
Looking for a Service in Anchorage: A Drive-by Account - 9/5/2009 1:51 pm
Anchorage Church of Christ: Good Service...Welcome Needs Work - 8/29/2009 10:59 am
He’s Just ‘Alright’ - 8/21/2009 11:00 pm
Trinity's Community Caring Extends to Children With Special Needs - 8/14/2009 10:47 am
St. John UMC: A Bright Light In Special Needs Leadership - 8/6/2009 2:20 pm
Abbott Loop: 2nd Visit - Not Much Change - 7/31/2009 2:41 pm
Sunday Evening Church: Trinity Presbyterian's '7:07' - 7/23/2009 10:46 pm
Saturday Evening Church: Faith Christian Community - 7/17/2009 6:20 am
First CME: Underattended Gem on 36th - 7/9/2009 11:22 pm
Chapel of the Cross: "B Team" but Friendly - 7/3/2009 4:12 pm
Life Church: Lively & Honoring Fathers - 6/26/2009 5:08 pm
Hillside-O'Malley SDA Church: And the Lord Rested the Seventh Day... - 6/18/2009 11:18 pm
The Crossing @ Birchwood: A Work in Progress - 6/11/2009 8:11 pm
ChangePoint Finally Delivers...For the Most Part - 6/2/2009 11:31 pm
NOVEMBER 3, 2009 - 10:10 AM
Summary
My recent chilly, early morning visit to Central Lutheran, a near downtown church, was delightful. They offer warm greetings, solid music, a meaningful liturgy, and brief but meaningful homilies. Serving a diverse ethnic and socioeconomic congregation, they have established and maintain a significant Christian presence in their neighborhood. I intend to revisit to sample the atmosphere of their other congregations at their two other Sunday morning services. .preview.jpg "Central Lutheran Sanctuary Interior")
Central Lutheran Sanctuary Interior
OCTOBER 28, 2009 - 11:11 AM
Driving by Anchorage Bible Fellowship last week, I was pleased to see they were now prominently posting their Sunday worship time on the sign. This small change is greatly appreciated, doubtless a sentiment that will be echoed by many. I also noticed the service time of 10:30 a.m. is now on their website's first page, but suggest it clearly be identified as Sunday Worship. I applaud ABF in making these small but significant changes.
OCTOBER 18, 2009 - 1:51 PM
Anchorage Bible Fellowship Sign - Elmore Rd.Summary
Visited on October 11, Anchorage Bible Fellowship presented several faces to this church visitor. Prominently located on Elmore Road just south of the new Dowling interchange, ABF was easy to access and locate. I encountered a warm door welcome by two gents as I arrived at 10:30 a.m. The praise group was playing and singing as I entered the auditorium. The music was mainly contemporary Christian music (CCM) performed conservatively, i.e. it wasn't jazzed up. Many women wore head coverings, unusual for a Protestant church. The special music, a solo by a woman, was quite nice but unusual for churches today. Usually the praise group is the sole focus, with an occasional solo by one of their members of which this was the case.
OCTOBER 11, 2009 - 9:59 AM
Many of the churches I've visited in the past 1 1/2 years are quite noisy in their sanctuary before the service. Occasionally I've commented on this. Recently I stopped by Trinity Presbyterian to check out their service. Finding the sanctuary doors closed, and a dark interior with few people seated, I queried Associate Pastor Tammy Letts about what might be happening. She explained they were experimenting with creating a more worshipful environment and attitude. The way they're doing this is by keeping the doors closed until the 10:30 a.m. service start time. Before that time, worshipers are free to go inside if they choose to do so. But it is into what is clearly a reverent environment. At 10:30 the doors are thrown open. The congregation enters to the joyful sound of music and the service commences.
OCTOBER 4, 2009 - 5:03 PM
At this point, this wll be the last of a series of blog posts about Anchorage Protestant church offerings of evening services, Saturday or Sunday, with the same message format of normal Sunday services. Some worshipers find it necessary to attend at these times but still desire to be spiritually fed the same as other worshipers, only at a later hour.
To date, I've written of three other churches offering this format: Faith Christian Community, Trinity Presbyterian, and ChangePoint. Last week I attended St. John United Methodist's Sunday evening service and am pleased to add it to this list of options. St. John's 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening service complements their 8:15, 9:30, and 11:00 a.m. services. Lightly attended, it nevertheless offers a wonderful opportunity to worship, but in a more casual form..preview.jpg "St. John UMC Evening Praise Group")
St. John UMC Evening Praise Group
SEPTEMBER 26, 2009 - 10:24 PM
This morning I "did church". It wasn't a normal service as I typically do. My presence was in response to an invitation extended by a friend and service club colleague to attend a men's group of which he is a member. This group meets every other Saturday. Their format is simple. Meeting in a church, they first have a formal service led by a clergyman of this church. After the service, they spend a friendly half-hour in coffee and conversation.
Next they break into several smaller groups to discuss a common book all are reading. Numbering about 20, the group chooses a different book several times a year. They all read and study an assigned chapter over the two weeks between meetings. They are currently reading Philip Yancey's popular book, "The Jesus I Never Knew".
SEPTEMBER 19, 2009 - 8:59 PM
Readers have written me asking for information on churches offering evening service timeframes due to their inability to attend morning services. I've been visiting Protestant churches in Anchorage offering either Saturday or Sunday evening services using the same sermon as in the Sunday morning services. So far I've located four churches with this format: Faith Christian Community, Trinity Presbyterian, St. John United Methodist, and ChangePoint. It's unfortunate more Anchorage Protestant churches are not sensitive to this segment of worshiper. I'm open to learning about other Protestant churches offering this type of worship service. Many churches offer a Sunday evening service, but deliver a different format and message, trying to get Sunday morning attenders and other church goers out for a 2nd time on Sunday.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2009 - 10:21 AM
Summary
Impressed by my first visit to Cornerstone Church (click here to view), and having experienced a dismal morning's experience with finding a church service (see previous post), I headed to this Brayton Drive church once again on August 16. It was great to be warmly greeted by the same person upon entering, and then again by the same team of greeters outside the sanctuary. Trust me, it makes all the difference in the world to feel you are welcomed into an unfamiliar church. The music was great, the preaching, by a layman, was adequate. In all, this re-visit confirmed that a consistent church maintains a high level of service, to the visitor and member alike.
Lavonne - Still Greeting With a Smile
SEPTEMBER 5, 2009 - 1:51 PM
A couple of Sundays ago, August 16, I went looking for a service. Here is a brief resume of my frustrating search. Undoubtedly there are reasons for each of the described occurrences, but every church needs to visibly show they are "open for business" by signage, member participation, and well constructed websites.
First Target
Initially I stopped at South Anchorage Assembly of God whose poorly constructed website revealed services started at 10 a.m. Arriving shortly after that time, I discovered a parking lot, less than half empty, with very few cars present and people still straggling in. Not desiring to stand out in this small crowd, I left, continuing up Brayton Drive, to O'Malley to drive up the hill.
AUGUST 29, 2009 - 10:59 AM
.preview.jpg "Anchorage Church of Chris Sign on Debarr")
Anchorage Church of Chris Sign on DebarrSummary
Invited by a member, I visited Anchorage Church of Christ on August 2 for their 10 a.m. service. Warmly greeted by their sole greeter that day, he did enquire if I was visiting, a sometimes uncomfortable question to be asked. However, no bulletin was handed to me and no further greetings were made. The singing was wonderful, acapella, i.e. without instrumental accompaniment. The preaching was great, a relevant message, and understandable. The service proceeded mostly without explanation. To a visitor it might have been difficult to follow. For instance, communion was served early in the service without comment. A visitor might wonder if they should partake or not. However, on the whole, this was a meaningful visit and one that might easily accomodate a visitor looking for a good church.
AUGUST 21, 2009 - 11:00 PM
As a follow-up to a focus on special needs offerings of several local churches, I'm pleased to offer this heartfelt and insightful guest blog by Erin Kirkland this week. ct
Guest Contributor - Erin Kirkland
He’s Just ‘Alright’
I believe if Jesus were here he would dig my son. He is inquisitive, sensitive, and intelligent. He is also impulsive, immature, and sometimes downright annoying.
My teenager lives a life affected by Asperger Syndrome, a disorder on the Autism Spectrum that manifests itself through poor social skills, decreased judgment, and a lack of impulse control, among other things. He makes his way through every single moment of every single day knowing that he is not like everyone else. He has taught us, his parents, more about grace than could any other experience in our lives.
AUGUST 14, 2009 - 10:47 AM
Why Write About Special Needs in Churches?
Last week I started a series of articles about church inattention to children with special needs in Anchorage (click here to view first article). This week I focus on the only other Anchorage church I’ve been able to identify which offers a program for children with special needs, regardless of membership, Trinity Presbyterian Church. This post would not have been possible without significant contributions from Marla McCrorie and Tom Letts of Trinity Presbyterian Church.
AUGUST 6, 2009 - 2:20 PM
Why Write About Special Needs in Churches?
Recently I received an sad email from a parent of several autistic children. It told a story of a church that no longer cared to deal with them or their autistic children. I was asked if I could point them in the direction of a church that did care. I've looked and am astounded at the almost total lack of such programs in Anchorage. As I uncover special needs programs, I'll feature them in the Church Visits blog. As Christians we should ever be mindful of Christ's statement "...Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Mt. 25:40
Pastor Jo Ann Schaadt Signing in St. John's Special Needs Classroom
JULY 31, 2009 - 2:41 PM
.preview.jpg "Tanner Interviewing Baptismal Candidate - Music Group Onstage")
Tanner Interviewing Baptismal Candidate - Music Group OnstageSummary
Last year I visited Abbott Loop Community Church on June 22. I found a church not visitor-friendly, the music long, loud, and too much a show. However the message by a guest preacher was awesome, one of the best I've heard in my life.(click here for the review) One of their members contacted me recently, noting they had a new pastor and urging me to give them another try. I visited again on July 26 finding the church still not visitor-friendly, the music even longer, louder, and still a show. The new pastor, Josh Tanner, came across more like a youth pastor with lots of energy, excitement, but not particularly plowing deep into his topic. There may be more "under the hood" than meets the eye in this church but as a local church visitor, I've discovered there are local church choices doing a better job: visitors, music, preaching, connecting, in about half the time. This will remain a challenge for Abbott Loop.
JULY 23, 2009 - 10:46 PM
.preview.jpg "Trinity's 7:07 Service")
Trinity's 7:07 ServiceSummary
This is the second in a series of blog posts about Saturday or Sunday evening services I've located which offer identical sermon/message content to Sunday morning/afternoon services. Church Visits has received queries from individuals looking for more convenient alternative service times.
In my quest to visit churches with evening services, as described above, I visited Trinity Presbyterian Church on July 12. They offer a service called 7:07 which oddly enough starts at approximately that time. The group was primarily 'twenty-somethings', about thirty-five in number. Everyone was warmly greeted. The music was provided by drums, guitars, and bass expertly played by a mix of summer interns and Trinity young adults. Pastor Tom Letts' message was well-delivered, covering the same material from the morning sermon. Based on John 3, and the story of Nicodemus (nike=victory + demos=of the people), Letts unveiled two streams and eight parables hidden in this scripture passage. Stylistically, Letts encouraged participation by inviting individuals to read passages in John 3 and in teasing out observations from those present. I enjoyed this service very much..preview.jpg "Pastor Tom Letts Makes a Point")
Pastor Tom Letts Makes a Point
JULY 17, 2009 - 6:20 AM
.preview.jpg "Faith's Musical Service")
Faith's Musical ServiceSummary
In response to reader queries, I've begun visiting churches offering Saturday or Sunday evening services, and the same sermon content as regular Sunday services. My first visit of this nature was to Faith Christian Community on July 11. The account of my last visit to Faith can be found by clicking here. With a service starting at 6 p.m. Faith offers a warm welcome, lively music, good preaching, and weekly communion. I did detect several visitor-unfriendly slipups, but these should not deter you from giving Faith an opportunity to meet your church going needs.
JULY 9, 2009 - 11:22 PM
First CME Church SignSummary
Curious about the distinctive, but unknown to me, church on 36th between the Seward Highway and Lake Otis Boulevard, I stopped mostly because I was running late for my other planned church visit. I discovered the church was First Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Warmly greeted, I located a pew in their distinctive sanctuary. The music was lively, upbeat, and in the black gospel style. Even the meet n' greet was fun with lots of hugs and warm contact. Communion was beautifully delivered before the sermon. The preaching was Bible-based and animated. Pastor Paul Everett gave a wonderful lesson based on Hebrews 11, the faith chapter. If you want to join a group of warm, dedicated Christians for worship, this is the place.
JULY 3, 2009 - 4:12 PM
Chapel of the Cross Church of the Nazarene Sign
Summary
Having visited no Nazarene churches yet in my Anchorage church visits, I found Chapel of the Cross Church of the Nazarene after a difficult slog through the Alaska Nazarene District website. Located on the upper hillside, this small church received a visit from me on June 28. I received warm greetings from several men greeters upon entering, and exiting. The regular pastor was not there nor was their accomplished music minister, and no mention was made of their absence. The music was traditional to slightly contemporary with a small praise group on stage, accompanied by piano, violin and conga. A beautiful prayer was offered, specifically mentioning members by name who had requested prayer. The sermon by Pastor Don McCullough was well-delivered, even if read, and was based on the gospel story of Nicodemus as recorded in John 3:1-16. I enjoyed my visit. A few visitor friendly practices, commented upon below, could have added to my visit.
JUNE 26, 2009 - 5:08 PM
Life Church - Sign at Huffman & Jerome
Summary
Anticipating a lively service at Life Church on June 21, I was not disappointed. But I began to feel this would be another church, Pentecostal at that, where I would not be welcomed. I felt this way because in passing the welcome desk, staffed by three women, I noted they were in fervent conversation with each other, but totally oblivious to visitors! A guy with a clipboard finally tracked me down. Eventually I was warmly greeted by many. The music was quite lively, in the style of Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir cum soul music. However, the expected Pentecostal displays of dancing, speaking in tongues, and shouting were almost totally absent. Pastor Jim Blackshear's sermon in honor of Father's Day, prefaced by a gift of a handy tape measure to the dads, was dynamically delivered and a powerful statement to families, and their dads. This was a fun visit to an interesting church.
JUNE 18, 2009 - 11:18 PM
Hillside-O'Malley SDA Church Sign
Summary
Arriving ten minutes late for a service at Hillside-O’Malley Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Saturday, May 23, 2009, I was pondering why I was attending church on Saturday morning. Although greeted cheerily by one person, I discovered a musical service let by an uncertain praise team, lengthy preliminaries, a baptism, and that was just the beginning. Their young pastor Donovan Kack, finally began preaching one hour after the start of church. Concluding his excellent, but lengthy Bible-based sermon, he dismissed the congregants to meet the newly-baptized member. Crying children signaled this 1 3/4 hr. service was probably already too long for some. A judicious pruning of the preliminaries might have provided an hour plus service of greater impact. If you're hungry for good Bible-based preaching, Hillside-O'Malley SDA, while not visitor friendly, is a good option if you time your arrival to avoid the lengthy preliminaries.
Read the adn.com updated privacy policy | 
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.
© Copyright 2009, The Anchorage Daily News, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company 
Contact Us | Newsroom Contacts | Communication Forms | Subscriptions | Advertising | Featured Advertisers
Daily News Jobs |
RSS Feeds |
|
ADN Store |
Newspapers in Education
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | About our ads | Copyright