Visitors

I carry a bulletin in my childhood Bible. I was twelve years old when a Father’s Day bulletin was handed out at my church.

It was the same year my dad discovered his love for alcohol that didn’t end for 35 years. But that love affair with alcohol was replaced with the love and grace of Jesus.

Worship is powerful, but sometimes we need a catalyst to help us get into the right frame of heart and mind for worship, something to help us turn our thoughts toward God.

Worship Bulletins help us do just that. They beckon us to seek the Lord. They invite us to meditate on His Word. They remind us of the price God paid for us through Jesus.

I was the wife of a pastor for 17 years until he recently changed vocations. We then found ourselves as regular attendees at a new church. Even though we already knew some people at the church, it still took some time to find our way. The ironic thing is, we know church. We know how it functions, how people get connected, why church exists, and we even know some of the more esoteric language of church.

Sometimes visiting a new church feels like an act of bravery. Who do I talk to? Where do I sit? Where do the kids go and can someone please direct me to the bathroom? Sometimes all those questions can lead to a visitor never even getting out of their car. (I know, I've done it!)