Church visits

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

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.

Don't Miss This Great Gospel Presentation!!! February 11, 2012, Last reminder!!! - 2/9/2012 8:15 pm

Five Myths About Youth/Young Adult Church Dropouts - 1/26/2012 11:04 pm

Eagle River Grace: Good Sermon and Prayers, But Not Guest Friendly - 1/24/2012 10:10 pm

Coming Feb. 11 - Steve Johnson’s “A Play for a Purpose: The Gospel According to John Mark” - 1/20/2012 4:22 pm

Why Are Anchorage Youth/Young Adults Deserting Church? Six Reasons - 1/13/2012 10:13 pm

Anchorage Moravian Church: Joyous & Sincere - 1/8/2012 11:33 pm

10 Things I’d Like Anchorage Churches to Tackle in 2012 - 1/1/2012 8:42 pm

Baxter Road Bible Church Ends “It’s Not Your Birthday” Giving Program Far Above Expectations! - 12/30/2011 11:33 am

Don't Miss This Great Gospel Presentation!!! February 11, 2012, Last reminder!!!

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Anchorage churches rarely present anything of note for the local community. When they do, it seems attendees tend to support these events along denominational lines, although that truly has little to do with sponsoring churches or their theology.

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Five Myths About Youth/Young Adult Church Dropouts

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Last week I posted research results from the Barna Group about six key reasons youth and young adults are deserting church.

Predictably, some readers expressed opinions on this blog as to why they thought this was happening.

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Eagle River Grace: Good Sermon and Prayers, But Not Guest Friendly

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Don’t Get Out Much
My church visits usually revolve around Anchorage proper, but when I get out to our local communities to the North (Eagle River, Chugiak, Birchwood, etc.), I usually have a unique experience. This was the case a week ago, when on January 15 I visited Eagle River Grace, sited not far past Chugiak High, on an invitation.

Greetings and Hospitality Say Much

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Coming Feb. 11 - Steve Johnson’s “A Play for a Purpose: The Gospel According to John Mark”

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Just got word of an important spiritual play coming to Anchorage’s Wendy Williamson Auditorium on February 11. You’ll want to plan ahead to enjoy this rewarding evening.

What is this play about?

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Why Are Anchorage Youth/Young Adults Deserting Church? Six Reasons

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As I travel from church to church in Anchorage, I’ve noticed fewer and fewer youth attending church. In many churches, I see virtually no youth at all. I’ve been perplexed by this, wondering what the driving reasons are. Some churches have instituted programs to attract and capture the missing youth, or retain those still attending. I shake my head when I see this because so often churches create “programs” as solutions for issues deeper than they seem to understand.

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Anchorage Moravian Church: Joyous & Sincere

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Tonight I attended a wonderful church service in East Anchorage which left me tingly and warm. Anchorage Moravian Church is located in a warren of streets not far from the Muldoon curve. Arriving just before the 6:30 p.m. service, I found a parking lot mostly devoid of cars.

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10 Things I’d Like Anchorage Churches to Tackle in 2012

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Each year, based on my church visits and observations for the year just ended, I look forward to sharing things I believe churches can do, or do better to be more welcoming to members and guests, increasing attendance, and membership at the same time. Many of these things seem to appear on my lists year after year, because churches do little or nothing about them. Did you know guests decide in 5-8 minutes if they’ll ever return. How does your church fare?

Warmly Greet Each Guest and Member

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Baxter Road Bible Church Ends “It’s Not Your Birthday” Giving Program Far Above Expectations!

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All month, I’ve been featuring a unique giving program adopted by Baxter Road Bible Church. With their December theme of “It’s Not Your Birthday”, they’ve demonstrated to the Anchorage community their understanding of the true meaning of Christmas.

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Abundance of Christmas Eve/Christmas Day Services Offered for 2011

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A Google search located a goodly number of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services in Anchorage churches. I used the search terms anchorage church services christmas 2011 and found many pages of local church service offerings.

Additionally, the Anchorage Daily News published, in their December 10 "A Section" centerfold, an extensive listing of local church ads and services scheduled for Christmas Eve and day.

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Baxter Road Bible Church's Extraordinary Giving Continues: What a Story!

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I’ve been captivated this Advent season with the ongoing story of giving by Baxter Road Bible Church (BRBC). Under their December theme of “It’s not your birthday”, they are giving 100% of church income to local community charities, and smaller ministries. BRBC Sr. Pastor Bob Mather has been graciously sharing news of their progress with Church Visits. This church of some three-hundred (300) has been giving in an unbelievable fashion.

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Fourth Sunday of Advent - 2011

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Last Sunday, a snowy day in Anchorage and Third Advent Sunday, I visited Our Lady of Guadalupe in Turnagain for the 11:30 a.m. Mass. The service was in Spanish and the church was packed.

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Baxter Road Bible Church’s December Giving - Truly Amazing!

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Last week I shared information regarding an incredible leap of faith and devotion to the true spirit of Christmas at Baxter Road Bible Church. The entire month of December they are giving 100% of church income to those less fortunate in our community, with special emphasis on local missions.

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Third Sunday of Advent – 2011

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It’s a chilly, winter morning in Anchorage but many worshippers will be observing the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Last Sunday, a blustery, stormy day, found me visiting several mid-Hillside churches. Trinity Presbyterian was first on my list as I was curious about their “big announcement”.

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Baxter Road Bible Church: A Better Approach to Christmas

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I just became aware of one Anchorage church employing the right idea for selflessly observing Christmas. According to Sr. Pastor Bob Mather, “Our theme for December is “It’s Not Your Birthday””.

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Second Sunday of Advent – 2011

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Second Advent Sunday’s theme is peace. At services, the second candle in the Advent wreath will be lit, joining the first candle, the candle of hope. The Old Testament reading from Isaiah ("Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God...") embodies one of the most beautiful passages of scripture we have. Made more familiar, as Handel used it extensively in The Messiah, it prefigures the ministry of John the Baptist as recalled in the Gospel reading in Mark, also used by Handel.

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St. Mary’s Episcopal: Warm First Advent Service

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This time last year I spent Advent by my mother’s side as her long life slowly faded away. Before I left Anchorage, I stopped by St. Mary’s Episcopal for a service. The Episcopal way is not in my family tradition, but during my life I've found meaningful moments in several of their churches.

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Advent 2011 Arrives in Anchorage

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Sunday, November 27 is the start of the liturgical year, four Sundays before Christmas. Advent is celebrated by most Christian churches worldwide. Taken from the Latin word “Adventus”, which means “coming”, Advent has been celebrated since the 6th century.

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Anchorage Thanksgiving Services – A 2011 Sampling

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A Google and ADN search turns up the following Thanksgiving Eve services options in our community. If churches mention such a service on their website, Google will likely find it. I’m glad to see these churches offering services.

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ACF: Eagle River’s Fresh Approach

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Summary

A friendly initial greeting, military tributes, upbeat music, Bible-based sermon, huge push for commitment to buy their land and buildings, and a free ACF mug added up to a primarily positive impression for my November 6 visit. No sermon audio posted yet, although two subsequent sermons have been. I’d probably do a return visit to this convenient Eagle River church if I wasn’t regularly visiting other churches.

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ChangePoint’s App: Use Still Growing After 6 Mos.

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If you do not know what an app is, you must not use a smartphone. October 20 recently marked the six-month point since ChangePoint released their app. As I met with Adam Legg, ChangePoint’s Director of Communications, it was obvious he was pleased with the growing adoption, worldwide, of their app.

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