My First Year at a New Church

I decided to write about my first year at a new church for a few reasons. Firstly, I don’t church hop. The last church I went to, I was there for 10 years. The one before that – 10-15 years. And I’m only 29 so you do the maths. I left the first church because I moved countries. I left my previous one because I kept having nightmares about going there and that’s just not a healthy place to be. But secondly and most importantly, I wanted to write about this to share the joy I’ve found in the church I’ve joined.

Everything I Love About Re:Hope

1. Hospitality

When you come to Re:Hope, you’ll be greeted by smiley faces and offered tea and coffee, or iced pumpkin spice coffee, juice, water – basically whatever you could want. Hot drinks are brought to your seat, as are chocolates and other treats. 

2. Share Time

Every service starts with share time (right after announcements). This is a time when anyone in the congregation can raise their hand and share how God has answered their prayer. It’s encouraging to hear how God provides for people in all sorts of circumstances.

3. Worship

Worship at Re:Hope is next level. I think I have a right to say that as someone who grew up with intense musical training for 10 years. Aside from smooth transitions from one song to the next, here’s another thing I like. I’ve seen five different people lead worship. All of them are equally as talented and passionate. And that’s just one location of Re:Hope. Not all churches are filled with musically talented people and that’s okay. But what a difference it makes when it is.

4. Bible Based Sermons

This may seem odd but let me explain what I mean. Most sermons at this church almost feel like a Bible study. We’ll hear Bible passages that explain the context of the story being shared, the pastor will show maps of where events took place. It’s all about accurately representing God’s word in its context. Having grown up listening to preaching that often reminded me of motivational speeches, it took me a while to get used to Re:Hope’s way of teaching. Here’s what I think the main difference is. The message isn’t about you or what God can do for you. Its main focus is about God, who He is and why you should follow Him with all of your heart. 

Speaking of which, I’ve also been to churches where the message of grace is so prominent, that sin is rampant all around the church. “I can do whatever I want, God will forgive me anyway”, or “What does Holy even mean? It’s impossible to be Holy so why even try” are some of the phrases I’ve heard before. Meanwhile, what I’ve heard at Re:Hope is this: we’re not focusing on the bare minimum we need to do to get to Heaven. We’re focusing on chasing Jesus all of our lives. That’s the kind of church I want to be a part of.

5. Bible Read Through

Bible Read Through, or BRT for short, is exactly what it says. The church reads the Bible together every year and follows a reading plan together. They then meet in small groups throughout the week to discuss what book they’ve read and what stood out to them. Everyone gets a chance to share a couple of things, which makes everyone’s voice equally important. No one has to fight to be heard over loud extroverts. The group leader doesn’t have to carry the load of preparing a message weekly either. It’s very well-organised and a safe place for discussions as well.

6. Join When You’re Ready

I’ll be honest. It took me a while to actually plug in. I started going to Re:Hope at the end of October of last year, but I only committed to Sundays. I finally joined BRT a couple of weeks ago, and have started going to more events as well. Here’s what I like. No one pressured me to join BRT, and no one insisted I should start serving immediately. It’s very much so about you reaching out when you are ready. 

7. They Pray For People Leaving on Missions

When I say this, I don’t mean church-related missions. Everyone is eager to celebrate people spreading the name of Jesus across nations on behalf of their church. Re:Hope celebrates people spreading the name of Jesus regardless of what organisation they choose to do it with. If you feel called to go to a discipleship school on the other side of the world, the leaders of the church will pray for you and bless your journey. Because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. Spreading the gospel.

8 Leaders Serve

It was quite a shock to me when I saw the senior pastor’s wife serve. Not because someone didn’t show up, but because it’s something she does all the time. She’ll serve people tea and coffee, welcome people to the building during BRT. Pastors help tidy up the building in between services. To me that reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-27 that whoever wants to be a leader, should become a servant. 

Final Thoughts

There are more things I could say, but I’ll just finish by saying that at that church I’ve found peace and joy. I feel valued as a member not because of what I bring, but simply because I am. If you’re looking for a church in Glasgow, I cannot recommend Re:Hope enough. I also know a lot of people who’ve found a new church home in the last year or two. If you’ve read this far, I’d love to hear what you enjoy about your new church in the comments!