There are many different flavours of Christianity. Called denominations, each flavour is distinct, though with certain similarities, and each has certain function in a persons faith journey. These are just my own thoughts and observations, and as each persons faith is their own, their experience might be different.
To start with, I’m going to look at the evangelical churches. These are the ones like the Assembalies of God, the Hillsong and Planetshakers style churches, and the more modern Churches of Christ. These churches are great at evangelism – reaching out into the community and bringing Christ into their lives, finding new followers. Hence, these are the ones who have the podcasts, the telecasts on TV of their services, the big name churches that everyone knows.
Then you have the more conservative staples of the faith. Churches like the Anglicans, the Catholics, the more traditional Churches of Christ and to an extent the Uniting Church. Here, their focus is more on nurturing the faith. Not attracting as many new Christians, new members to the Church often come from another Church, or from returning Christians who may have grown up in the Church but then left.
For a long while, this is where I pictured my faith – in the Nurturing area. Having grown up in a traditional Church of Christ, and then moving to an Anglican, it was this nurturing that founded my faith. Through the many sermons, the services, the bible studies I participated in, I explored my faith, discovering the nature of God. And through that exploration, it seems that I have found that this was not the end of the cycle. I have come to understand that while there is still more than I have to learn, there is another aspect of my faith to explore. That of service, of giving back to the Church.
This is not quite the place for me to share right now, but expect more on my new developments of my faith in times to come.
Ben Clapton 