chickenpatty Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 We've been attending a wonderful church for almost a year now. We love it, love the preaching, the people, the worship, etc... But it is an hour from our home. The fellowship groups are all an hour from our home. I feel frustrated that there are needs of people in the church that it's just not practical for me to help with. And then, what if we need help? I would feel bad to ask people to come all the way out here. I've searched online & have found a similar church that is 30 minutes from our home. I'm wondering if we should try it... don't wanna uproot the kids again - although, they aren't close to anyone at the hour-away church. Dh and I are praying about it, but if anyone has any thoughts that might help, I'd love to hear them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 We attend church an hour from home. And yes, it is possible, but it is hard. If I had a option that was closer I would do it. We are close to the people in our church, but the distance makes it hard to get together or to help out when there is a need. But we decided years ago that we preferred solid teaching (and teaching that matched our theological bent, Reformed) over having something close. But again, it is not easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Agreeing with the others that it's possible, but hard. We've had a few times where we've had to travel up to 2 hours by bus to our church and we were pretty much limited to just seeing people on Sundays. I'd try the new church too. Thirty minutes is still a reasonable time commitment, but a lot easier than an hour. It's worth being able to do more with your church and not wear yourself out on Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 It's difficult. We are attending a church 20 minutes away and it's a commitment we've made, but sometimes I really wish we were attending the church we used to go to 5 minutes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty-two Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 We were at a church in which a lot of people lived an hour away and were active. The church was downtown in a big city, and the parishioners lived all over, so some were over 2 hours from each other. Yet people came to all sorts of church functions, got together at each others' houses, and were very generous with their time (and money, too). I can't imagine doing it, myself - we were 10min away - but they all made it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny_P Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 We are about 15 minutes from our church, which on a Sunday morning rush seems too far. I think it would be difficult to be very involved with a church an hour away. It certainly couldn't hurt to check out the 30 minute church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 i agree it is very hard. the last church we attended for 5 years was an hour away from our home. although we knew people, had friends there, and loved it - we could never connect socially on the level i really would have liked for our family. we have since moved and our new church is only 15 minutes away now. it is so much better for us, especially the children. i would never attend a church so far away again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 It isn't ideal, but it can be done, and sometimes it is the only option. If you want to make it work, it could help if there are other members closer, could you start a mid-week group closer to home? Otherwise, I'd check out the other group, probably without the kids first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 There are a few families in our church that live about an hour away. One family has grade-school aged children and they don't always make it to church. Another family has grown, college-aged children and they are almost always there. Regardless, both consider our church their "church home". However, I know how stretched you feel and, since you said, your kiddos aren't really close to anyone in the church you go to now (but ask them first!), I'd highly recommend checking out the one closest to you. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naturalhomestead Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 We used to live 5 minutes from our church. Then we moved 35 minutes away and that made a huge difference in how often we were going to events at the church during the week. So for our family it has made a huge difference and we are currently looking for something closer to our home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 We're 90 miles from our church and go every Sunday we can, but I don't feel a part of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 We've considered one about 30 minutes away. In the end we decided that we were committed to being able to rub shoulders with our church family in our own community. We wanted to be able to see them at sports events, grocery shopping and to be able to be helpful when it's needed. We wanted the kids to be able to invite friends from church over during the week. We would have to be extremely concerned about the church culture to venture out of our general neighbourhood. We did find a church 15 minutes away that has excellent teaching. It's not perfect, but is a good solid place to raise children. There is a church only 5 min. away, but we aren't comfortable with the overall maturity of the leadership there. In a pinch, we would possibly go there. There's no way we'd consider attending a church a full hour away unless we truly lived in the boonies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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