One of the hardest parts about moving is having to find a new church. It was such a blessing to be reunited with my friends at Mountain Valley, that leaving them again was very difficult.
On top of that, we've moved to where most of the churches are LDS (Mormon) or Catholic. Nothing wrong with either of those, except that they're not in line with how I choose to worship. The non-denominational churches here are few and far between, and they're extremely small, some are held in single-wide trailers.
I was fortunate enough to have found White Mountain Bible Church online before we moved. I listened to a few of their sermons on the internet, read their beliefs, and checked out their bulletin for the types of things available and events they host. It may be the closest thing to a fit for our family.
We took a while to get acclimated before going to check it out in person. (Actually, we went there at Christmas while visiting up here but that doesn't count, it's not a "normal" service.) We've been watching MVC's online videos in the meantime.
Anyway, 2 weeks ago there was an elder giving the sermon. Last week the brand new speaking pastor there made his debut - and he's from Scottsdale Bible! Practically neighbors of MVC and the same church that hosted many of our Eastside Explorers homeschool group's events. Pastor Randy and his wife Tammy are in the same transition and "culture shock" that we are, so we may turn out to become good friends. Once the fall starts, the Sunday school classes for both kids and adults will be starting back up. Hopefully the boys will find friends in the teen group there. Jordan should find friends among all the pre-teen girls we've seen there already.
The message was challenging and they aren't a seeker church. Their intent is to grow and equip Christ followers to go into the world and make a positive difference in humility. It may turn out to be great for us at this point in our adventure. I don't think I can take Tues. mornings off for a Ladies Bible Study this year, but we're starting a small group here at the house around Sept. (at least that's the plan). We'll see how that goes too.
This coming Sunday, we'll be blessed to be among our church family at Mountain Valley once again while in the Phoenix area. It's always good to come home.
