Pajamas & The Church

One thing I didn't really think through when coming to Korea was the issue of finding a church. When I arrived I found out that I had been assigned to a church. It was a Korean speaking one and the message would be translated for me and the other foreigners assigned there. I went to this church a handful of times and it became apparent that what I needed couldn't be found here. I know other people who continued going to the church and it was exactly what they needed, but I knew that it just wasn't a good fit for me.

I heard about a church that met on the campus of the University that I was hired through and decided to try it out. I went for about two months and it didn't click with me either. That church has a great community of people that go there and there are a bunch of foreigners that attend. I liked the community aspect of the church, but there still wasn't that "I'm home" feeling associated with it.
I stopped going to church for a while, didn't fill that void with anything else (podcasts etc..), and began to feel quite empty after a while.

I started listening to podcasts from my home church and things started clicking again. I felt like I was really being fed: I was growing, I was learning, and my heart felt infinitely better than it had the first several months I was here. I do believe that being in a community of believers is vital to your spiritual growth, and although I'm not getting that from a physical church, I am getting that from a really great group of friends.

I am so grateful that my church chooses to record their sermons and make them available online. I don't know what I would have done if this wasn't an option. I now enjoy "church" in my apartment on Sunday mornings complete with devotional time, a message being delivered by my Pastor across the Pacific ocean, my pajamas, and one (or several...) cups of coffee.

 

The Lord works in all places. He doesn't need a physical building and he doesn't need a pew. He wants your heart and will meet you where you're at. For me, that's the floor of my apartment in a Korean high rise apartment. I'm not sure where it'll be next, but I do have the assurance of knowing that He will be with me wherever I go.