A New Church

Rustin and I have made the hard decision to go to a new church. It wasn't easy because I have been attending The Village since I first moved to the metroplex back in 2005. I liked it because Matt Chandler was the pastor and I knew him from when he would come speak to the youth group when I was a youth intern in Wichita Falls. There were also several people from Wichita Falls on staff there, and it felt like home. I loved going to church there. It was through The Village that I went on my first mission trip to Guatemala in 2007. My small group was also amazing, and I had a great time serving as a leader in Kids' Village for a while. It's hard to find a church where you completely line up with them theologically, and can also find great community.

When Rustin and I got married and moved back from Colorado, we started attending again. But then we moved to Allen. The Flower Mound campus was almost an hour drive from our new home and we knew that was just too far. We visited churches around us but couldn't seem to find a fit. Then the news came - The Village was opening a Dallas campus! I was so excited! It was still 30 minutes away, but that seemed so much closer. Before we had Avery, the drive was no problem. We sort of even liked driving to Saturday night service and going out to eat somewhere in Dallas afterward. Or sometimes we would go to a fun brunch place down there with friends after the Sunday morning service. We also found a great small group in Plano. It was also a 30 minute drive, but we felt like it was worth it to have such great community.

Then Avery was born. I guess I knew this was coming, but kept putting it off because I didn't want to leave The Village. But having a kid changes things. Not only was the drive a huge hindrance now, there were several other things I had to consider for Avery. Since there are so many services at The Village, you can possibly go to the same one each weekend, but see totally different people, so I assume that's how it would be in Little Village (their preschool ministry), so she would have a hard time making friends if she doesn't see the same kids every week. Not only that, who knows where the kids would live. We would possibly be driving 30-45 minutes for play dates too. We didn't want that for her. We wanted her to have a group of kids that she sees every Sunday who also live close so she can hang out with them. That's what true community is - doing life together.

Once we made the decision to really start looking again for a church, I had a pit in my stomach. I LOVED The Village and knew nothing would compare. Besides that, we already tried out most of the churches in our area and couldn't find a good fit. Well one day I told Rustin about a church we hadn't tried that I had heard about - Allen Bible Church. He said he would go check it out while I stayed home with Avery. He came home that first Sunday telling me how much he liked it. I joined him the next Sunday while his parents watched Avery and much to my surprise I really liked it too! A super nice lady came up and talked to us for a while, and several people talked to Rustin the Sunday before when he had gone by himself.

I'm sort of a stickler for theology. I just can't go to a church if they believe something I don't think is biblical,  but I completely line up with what this church believes. And... it's close! And there are even a few couples with kids right in our neighborhood!

Even though it was a very hard decision, I believe that we have made the right one for our family, and I think if Matt Chandler were to read my blog, he would agree :) ...and I can still listen to The Village sermons on podcasts!