I'm looking for a church to join as I am looking to rebuild the spiritual aspect of my life...I would especially like one that has a strong male community...
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Central Baptist has a great men's ministry. Check out several churches before coming to a decision. This may sound coldhearted, but essentially what you're doing is comparison shopping. Here's praying that the Holy Spirit will make your path clear to you.
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Are you looking for a certain denomination?
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I know this may be oversimplifying it, but the church that's right for you probably depends greatly on what you believe about the Bible. If you believe in the inerrancy of scripture you'll be looking for a very different church home than if you view it as inspired by God, but not completely true.
Don't be afraid of a big church. There are many ways to make a large church small, regardless of denomination. They key is getting involved and pouring your own life into that church.
Do churches of all sizes ask for money? Yep. Tithing, while seemingly distasteful to some, is biblical. It isn't considered optional, so how you view it probably depends on your view of scripture. (see above) [Yes, some churches emphasize it more than others .]
Just go in knowing what you expect and, as much as possible, what you believe. Find the one that fits (it may take many tries or only one) and then get involved. You'll be glad you did.
quote:Don't know for sure, but I suspect some of the non-denominational student-focused churches might be more ethnically diverse.
Are there any churches in the area that are truly diverse racially? It's always been a hope of mine to find a church like this, but they might not exist.
quote:To be fair to St. Mary's, when the VAST majority of your congregation is made up of students who do not tithe AT ALL, you have to be very aggressive in raising money to support such a giant campus ministry. While the mail outs may be annoying to some, money is rarely preached about in the church itself.
(It appears that in the time I took to write this wordy statement, some great comments have already been added, like those of agfan92)
Our family comes from the Catholic and Baptist backgrounds but have attended quite a few flavors (non-Denom/Bible to Methodist and even Pentecostal). We attend both the Catholic and Baptist churches weekly. Here's my long rundown of a few of the popular ones in the area that we are familiar with, hoping not to offend too many as I'm sure I'm writing more than one thing "wrong" to everyone. I will try to avoid the theology of each of them, as such on this forum would be an even worse mistake and I'll leave that up to others! So this post will be more of a post about everything else.
Catholic:
Saint Thomas Aquinas: Conveniently located off HWY 6 if you are in CS, somewhat large, less emphasis on children during the actual service, sometimes challenging to understand the accent of the Indian priest but very faithfully strong and likable community including excellent staff. Some good homilies have been given there. Modern but kinda cool ambience (building). They often run into overtime but this is generally okay with us. "Blessings only" during communion are highly discouraged per the priest request. Music is slightly above average for a Catholic church in the south.
St. Anthony's: Traditional/old time building, in downtown Bryan. Parking and seating can be tough (but this is kind of a good thing as it speaks for something) so get there early. Also some good homilies by Fr. Patrick. Bottom line - a very solid representation of the traditional Catholic church in Texas. If you had to show an outsider what the average Catholic church is like (in the south), then this is where I'd take them.
St. Mary's (northgate): Volume and the masses are going on here. Top notched quality in homilies from not only Fr. David (a home-grown fella, packing quite a bit of wisdom) but others. Of course it is student oriented but many families make it there too. Parking is a bummer as well and many "standing-room-only" services for those who have a tough time with the concept of getting to places on-time. The building itself catches some people off guard as looking more protestant, but you would make no mistake once the music fires up as to what church you are in. If you are open to a youthful ambiance, this place is hard to beat but others may serve small children better. Lots of asking for money goes on here (prepare for constant junk mail should you provide your address to them), but then again, this place is the salt of Texas Catholics when it comes to producing some great vocational fruit for God's work. Should you get involved here, you will probably find it very rewarding especially if you are young & single or with no kids.
quote:Yes.
I know many people that have found Grace Bible Church to be a good fit for them.
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Saint Josephs Catholic Church in Bryan
Love this church and Father Ryan. Fr Ryan's homilies are some of the very best and moving I've ever heard. It is a close knit community too with a small town feel...a very mixed bag group - families with kids, elderly, young couples like us, some singles. We just moved back the end of last year and couldn't be happier.
I haven't heard tithing mentioned yet, but it is practiced - we are no exception.
I strongly recommend trying out a few different churches, 1 of course being St. Josephs with a Fr. Ryan homily.
Prayers for your search
quote:Take all the fun out of it why don't you...
Try Episcipol...Catholic without the guilt...