Sunday Morning Field Trips
The questions are inevitable: "Why are there so many different churches?" "What do they believe about God?" "What do they do in their services?" Knowing that young people will eventually find out for themselves—with or without their parents' consent—Sharpsburg Baptist Church in North Carolina decided to expose their junior highers to other denominations … and discuss and help interpret the experience afterward. Once a month for a year, the dozen junior highers and three adult leaders were excused from Sunday school and worship to visit services elsewhere. "The first step was to see if our pastor had any objections," says Dianne Heffner, who was director of the department. "He gave his complete approval and cooperation. Then I mailed a letter to each student's parents to get their signed permission." The students themselves helped decide which churches they wanted to visit. Several factors were weighed. "We sought a variety of worship experiences," says Heffner. "And then, for the convenience of parents who might have to wait for our return, we set a distance limit. We didn't want driving time to exceed 20 minutes." They also chose churches both large and small. "One church was so large the minister didn't know if we had come, and in his announcements he said, 'If you are here, you are welcome.' Another church was so small and informal the pastor made a practice of asking volunteers to sing, so this Sunday he asked if any of us would sing for them!" Heffner called the minister of each church at least two weeks in advance. "In all cases they were eager to have us come," she reports. The first visit was to a Catholic church. "What a beautiful experience," says Heffner. "In a happy coincidence, when I called to make arrangements for our ...
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