Church of Christ

I attended a Bible Study at the Church of Christ in Lafayette, Indiana on Wednesday, March 9, 2008. A new friend, Brittney, took me and was my "escort."

We pulled up into a decently large parking lot. It was nearly full. She told me about a few different types of classes they offer for different groups -- mostly centering around age. We went to a building next door to the chapel. It was a white, one story building that used to be a dentist's office. [That last part isn't really important. It's just a random fact I remembered.]

We attended the college-aged group. The discussion was about fellowshipping. Somewhere in the discussion they started talking about when it is appropriate to use the church's money [instead of the congregation's money] for fellowshipping. There was no closing prayer. (Nor opening song)

I did not quite follow the part about the use of money so well... or, I just had a hard time understanding it. I don't know all the details of my church, but pretty much the person in charge of a group gets a budget and they decide what to spend it on. The idea is that every activity in the church is free... no matter if the activity is about sharing the Gospel of just goofing off. This way -- no one is excluded because of cost. This just makes sense to me. It was strange to think about paying to attend an activity at church. None the less, some uplifting Christ-centered lessons were taught.

After this we went to the chapel where we had all the different groups meet together. There was a short devotional type lesson taught and we sang. This, was my favorite part. It was all sung a capella. Behind where the elder (I think he was called an elder. He may have just been a member of the congregation) spoke to us, there was a baptismal font. It appears this church believes in baptism by immersion. I wonder if they wear all white. I am interested in attending a baptism at this location.

When the meeting dispersed, everyone talked and mingled afterwards. I must say that everyone was very friendly. I can't tell you how many times I said "I am a student at Purdue but I am switching majors. I went from Hospitality and Tourism Management to Organizational Leadership and Supervision." Just a side note: I think it's funny that my new major isn't any easier to say than my old one. Anyway. They were very interested in me and my life. I can't lie -- at some points I was bored... and I was getting a litle squirmish shaking all those hands. Think of all the germs!

Overall this church was great. I have plans to go again. I want to go on a Sunday and see how those services are. I think the only real problem I have with that church is the role of women. (They can't pray or teach with men present) I am thankful for all the friendly greetings. It's so wonderful to gather with other Christians, no matter what denomination.