Church?

The St. Peter’s group asked me after Maribel accepted Christ with us last week, “How will you do follow-up with her?” One way, obviously, is to take her to church. Since we only hold services at the children’s home on Sunday mornings, I have been taking her elsewhere: Saturday night we went to a medium-sized church not far from Casa Lamb, and last night we went to a big church across town. Both are evangelical, and one is also Pentecostal. In a word, I would describe our experiences at both as “disappointing.”

Lots of people have taken a shot at explaining what Church should be all about. The Bible says it should be about LOVE. I say that because the Scriptures say that God is love, and since the Church is the Body of Christ, it seems reasonable to me to conclude that the Church as Love should be our highest aim.

So I wanted somebody to love Maribel. I wanted somebody to notice that we were visiting, to discern that she is a person in need of Love, and then offer her some. At the first church, I took Fernando (Maribel’s baby) to the nursery so that Maribel could concentrate on listening. In the nursery, I was asked about the baby, so I told a little of Fernando’s story. Both nursery workers were flabbergasted: “I guess we live in a bubble,” one said. “I don’t even know anybody like that.” Ugh. The comment was not followed by something like, “But I would love to meet her and pray for her.” Double ugh.

At the second church, an usher came over and told Maribel she had to take Fernando to the nursery. Maribel was offended, not understanding that it was a kind of “church rule.” She is very sensitive about anything that looks like rejection. She called the usher an imbecile and walked out with Fernando. Oops. Another lady chased after us as we returned early to our car. She wanted to explain about the Rule. She addressed the entire conversation to me, referring to Maribel as “that girl,” and then “with the bad nature.” Oh. Really? That’s why I brought her here, I said, to be ministered to. “Oh,” said the woman, smiling, as if to congratulate me. This “oh” was not followed by, “Well, why don’t we have a time of prayer right now? Can I meet your friend?” She seemed happy when I said we needed to go (Maribel was about to blow another gasket).

In short, I am still looking for Church for Maribel. A Church that is LOVE. Any recommendations?