Creekside

We went to service at a new church today. The pastor is a dad at our preschool and I like him a lot. I was talking to another mom one day and we somehow got on the topic of churches (how that even happened, I dunno) and she mentioned that she had just checked out his church and liked it. I was intrigued.

The church is called Creekside Community Church and it's just up the street from us. We were very warmly greeted when we arrived. We had name tags made at the front desk and then went into the main room where there was music and singing for about 15 minutes before the pastor came out to speak. He spoke for about 45 minutes but it was so interesting that it didn't feel long at all. 

They put up some bible verses on an overhead screen so we could read along. Today was Mark 33-50. He broke it down into such simple language and added a bunch of jokes and even stories about his own family. Olivia sat between us and quietly ate some snacks and then worked on a preschool workbook. Only at the very end did she get bored, so Louis let her look at pictures on his phone.

After the service, we went to check out the room where the kids hang out during the preaching. They have lots of separate rooms for different ages and each is very much decorated and full of age appropriate toys. The preschool room had dinosaurs and a train table and push cars to ride in and lots of art supplies. O loved checking it out. 

We filled out a card with our contact info so that we could have pre-printed name tags the next time we come. Louis and I were both impressed and would like to go back. I think my family would flip out if they knew we were going to a Christian, non-Catholic church. They're of the generation that just doesn't question anything religious, since you're just supposed to follow whatever your parents did.

Anyway, we went to brunch afterwards (Louis was off today!!!) and talked all about our experience. Basically, Louis is gonna go along with what I decide about religion for the family. He's most excited that the church has a theater program for kids. I want O to grow up knowing about bible stories and believing in God. I also want to be part of a welcoming church community that feels like home. My home church has always been St. Leanders but lately it's not been doing much for me, and O doesn't really get anything out of it at all. I love how Creekside not only acknowledges kids but purposely built their church to accommodate them. They even have a nursing room! 

There's a women's bible study group that meets every week and all kinds of activities that are constantly going on. I feel like the pastor is a genuinely nice guy and he's really good at what he does. We recognized a lot of people there.

We won't be able to back next Sundsy, since we'll be at my niece's birthday party. The week after is Easter, which is sort of a mandatory church day, but I'm torn about which one to go to. This is a whole new experience for us.