The Joy of Fellowship

I haven't posted for a while since I have been busy helping to start a new church, The Vine Church of Petaluma.

In my last post, I mentioned I would offer my general observations and conclusions from visiting the various churches. So this is my first post on that.

I had a great time visiting all the churches in Petaluma. I really enjoyed meeting and spending at least a bit of time with all the brothers and sisters in Christ in all of the various churches who love the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course I didn't meet all of them, though in some smaller churches I did.

There is joy in fellowship, and I experienced some of that. It wasn't the sort of fellowship you experience when you join a church body, and develop relationships with the members of that body. However, I experienced a different sort of fellowship since there are so many Christians throughout Petaluma. It felt a little bit like heaven when we will be with Christians from every nation and from throughout the ages. I really enjoyed talking with Christians from the different churches, and finding out what was going on in their lives, and in the life of their church.

Almost Conclusion

Well, I completed my journey of visiting all the churches in Petaluma within the parameters I set forth in my Introduction. Altogether (and in summary), I visited (or attendeed) 33 churches, which I list below in alphabetical order (excluding the words The/A/De or Church/Iglesia, but including the word Petaluma if that is the first word in a name). (If I attended or visited a church more than once, I list my last attendance, or visit, and you can follow the links there to any earlier attendances or visits.) (Since St. is an abbreviation for Saint, I will use the full word.) (All dates are for 2011.) You can review this list to see if you missed a church you might be interested in knowing about. If you think I missed a church (that fits the parameters in my Introduction), let me know.

• 360 Church of Petaluma (October 2nd)
• Adobe Christian Center (November 13th)
• Iglesia Apostolico (March 20th)
• Iglesia Bautista de Petaluma (September 4th)
• Calvary Chapel (August 28th)
• A Church of Christ in Petaluma (May 22nd)
• Iglesia de Christo El Renuevo (December 4th)
• Eastside Church (August 14th)
• Elim Lutheran Church (February 13th)
• First Baptist Church (July 17th)
• First Presbyterian Church (July 3rd)
• Hessel Church (July 24th)
• Hillside Church (October 23rd)
• Living Word (Evangelical) Lutheran Church (August 28th)
• New Life Christian Fellowship (June 26th)
• New Life Seventh Day Adventist Church (February 5th)
• Open Door Christian Church (September 11th)
• Penngrove Community Church (September 30th)
• Petaluma Christian Church (June 19th)
• Petaluma United Methodist Church (July 10th)
• Petaluma Valley Baptist Church (March 13th)
• River of Joy (Fellowship) (Petaluma) (October 15th)
• St. James Catholic Church (November 27th)
• St. John's Anglican Church (March 27th)
• St. John's Episcopal Church (June 12th)
• St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (May 29th)
• St. Mary's Chapel (August 7th)
• St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church (April 3rd)
• The Salvation Army (Church) (November 6th)
• Sovereign Grace Baptist Church (April 17th)
• United Church of Christ (January 30th)
• The Vine Church of Petaluma (November 20th)
• Village Baptist Church (January 16th)

Several of you have asked what I have learned from this journey. I will offer my general observations and conclusions in some upcoming posts.