Church Comparison, Essay Example

Religion is an important aspect of one’s overall living. It could be understood that somehow people try to find a religion that would best define the way they want to connect with God. Being able to find a religion that satisfies one’s need to gain connection with a supreme being and be able to understand a specific relationship with God somewhat completes a person. Apart from religion though, there is a distinct sense of satisfaction that comes from the ideal process of attending regular sessions of religious meetings. Notably, the environment where such meetings are held affect the attention of the audience and the way they accept the discourse message of the speaker who presents the sermon for the congregation. This environment specifically identifies well with the feel of the family that they hope to belong to. As for myself, I do prefer to join a smaller church primarily because I feel more at home when I attend meetings in smaller locations where connections are more intimate and the religions meetings are much more sincere.  At present, my husband and I are stationed in Germany and every now and then, a discussion comes up about finding a new church home once we moved back to the states. My oldest sister is a member of a large popular mega church since 2004 has been trying her best to get us to join her mega church. However, I do not want to join her church right now.I have to admit; I have visited thechurch on several occasions, and each time I’ve visited; I thoroughly enjoyed myself; but, however, I feel lost and out of place there. Iwould rather join a much smaller church as oppose to a large mega church. Here is my opinion when comparing the two types ofchurches; the advantage of a smaller church is in my favor.

First of all, I believe attending a mega church is more discouragingthan attending a smaller family church. The mega churches have body guards following the pastor everywherehe goes. You can see them all over the church, trying to blend in with the rest of the congregation; it’s easy  to spot them because of they are always wearing: dark shades, whitesingle plastic white earpieces, and gun holsters on their hip. Most mega churches you don’t have a personal relationship with their seniorpastor. And if you need some quick guidance from him; you would have to set up an appointment that fits into his schedule. Let’s not even talk about joining the church committee broad. I’ve heard it’s a long process to go through and it’s very comparative considering the volume of people applying for so few positions. The meetings and the organization itself feels insincere and the people joining in the church sessions are less connected to each other.

The mega-church is huge, stadium size church. If I want to make it to early morningservice on time, I would have to leave the house an hour early in order to find better parking. If I am running late, than Iwill have to park my car to the next parking lot over and catch the church shuttle bus or walk a mile to get to the church. Once you walk through the main entrance into the sanctuary, theusher staff members are: directing traffic coming in and out, assigning attendees seats and handling out seed envelops.  You may be seated next to someone that you don’t know or probably might not even see ever again. Friendships and intimate conversations after the meetings are hard to accomplish in relation to this particular type of church.

Attending a smaller church, on the other hand, is more favorable. I feel less intimated when attending church, I can have a personal relationship with the pastor if I need to and I do not have to make an appointment to see him. And oh, joining the committee broad is a breeze; you do not have to feel like you are trying to compete for a job position. So it’s safe to say that I feel more comfortable attending a much smaller church. I don’t have to leave my house early just to get better parking space, nor do I have to leave church service early to avoid getting caught in a traffic jam. I prefer to seat myself and have the luxury to look around spotting familiar faces three rows over or four seats ahead.  And most importantly, I don’t feel like some kind of sheep being herded in and out the church.

Last of all, the most important difference between large mega-churches and smaller churchesare themajor scandal and corruptionsthat has destroyed the congregation. Themega-churches, whose senior pastors have been accused or have been sentence to prison, will definitely embarrass thecongregationand the church may not survive a torn repetition very well. The media will be all over the story.On the other hand,even through the smaller churches have had their fair share of scandals and corruption; I believe, in my opinion, the congregation healing processwill rebound much quicker than oppose to larger congregation inside mega-churches.

As for me, I desire that when it comes to joining a church and attending to meetings at a regular basis, my comfort and satisfaction would largely be dependent on how such church arrangement actually gets me closer to God and allows me to establish a closer relationship with those who praise God the same way I do. I want to feel as if I am existing within a familial arrangement and not just a mere popular organization that aims to distinguish my position against others based on economic status or the capacity to give the highest amount of donation for the church. So, as of right now; I prefer to join a smaller church as oppose to a larger mega church. It is encouraging, is convenient and is less corrupted.  I cannot wait to find me a nice church home that I can really call home. I cannot wait to give myself a chance to establish a closer relationship with God that withstands all the different issues of the society and focuses more on determining my friendship with God and all the other people who have the same goal as mine. This goal would specifically give me the chance to embrace home fully and become more connected with the individuals who share the same principles as I do, a congregation I can call family and a church I can call home.