Sunday, January 20, 2008

Churches in Seattle?

Do you know of a good church in Seattle? We thought we'd use our public blog to ask this important question. I know Seattle isn't known as a religious place, but over 3 million people live in the greater area - there's gotta be something here! We've lived here for about 8 months and have visited over a dozen churches. One very popular church we visited showed the pastor literally projected onto a screen (he was preaching from a remote location north of downtown). Another church we visited was way out of our comfort zone: shouting in tongues, people falling down, "spirit-led" laughter, and an indoor water baptism all in one hour. So we're feeling pretty isolated, and it isn't because we're not trying to integrate ourselves into the community.

We don't think of ourselves as picky people when it comes to churches, but maybe we are (?) ... We're just trying to find a church where they teach and study the bible - not preach a topical message that applies to a select downtrodden few and ends up turning the Good News into a therapy session.

Finding a church is hard when you're new to the area. Too many churches have denominational and philosophical baggage. We love the following churches. They are alive, hip, not lame, and not a tacky production:
  • Medford, OR: Trail Christian Fellowship, Applegate Christian Fellowship, Rogue Valley Fellowship
  • Portland, OR: River West Church, Athey Creek Christian Fellowship
  • Austin, TX: Gateway Church

2 comments:

Andrew and Joanne said...

My goodness. Ditto everything! All of it! whew! ..I have written quite a long comment here, that I may as well cut and paste it into our blog area. I don't want to hog your comment page! ..so here goes!

Miss you guys,
Joanne

Annie said...

Hi, I'm visiting from your sister's blog, where she mentioned your church dilemna. We have enjoyed Mars Hill church and actually listen to thier podcast often, though we live in Portland right now. I think they are in Ballard though. Good Luck.