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The search

Fred G. Moore

My wife and I had an unusual – and frustrating – experience. We were travelling through an area and a city that were new to us. Since it was Sunday, we wanted to attend a worship service. We picked up a visitor’s guide, which conveniently listed all the churches, giving their addresses and service schedules. We chose one related to our denomination.

I pride myself on having a good sense of direction. For several years, I was associated with a Christian organization that required me to make contacts with churches in a number of different cities, and I had always found my way. As long as I have an address, I am confident I’ll get there.

So, we checked the local map (which turned out to be a bit sketchy) and, allowing ourselves ample time to make the worship service, started out. We found the street named in the listing, but, search as we would, there simply was no church by that name to be found. Feeling the pressure of time, we stopped and asked for directions, but no one we spoke to had ever heard of the church. We finally gave up and returned to our motel.

A telephone call to the church number listed in our guidebook gave us a recorded message that the church had apparently moved. Now the church had only a Sunday morning worship service (earlier than the listing indicated) and a children’s club activity on Thursday evenings.

Well, when you fail, try, try again. We found another church listed that seemed like a good place to attend an evening service. This time we thought it expedient to telephone first, but there was no answer. After driving around for at least half an hour, we again simply failed to find the church. Once more we stopped for directions. A very kind clerk at a store told us that she knew the church and that we only needed to go further on the road we were travelling. At least we were on the right path. But, after finding a couple of other churches (neither of which had a Sunday evening service), we could not locate the one we were seeking.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). He also said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men” (Matthew 5:14-16). How easy is it for the people to find your church?

Fred Moore lives in Abbotsford, B.C.

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Last modified May 17, 2000.

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Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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