Are there differences between rural churches and those of the city, and which is

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   backporchstoriesposted 11 years ago

   Are there differences between rural churches and those of the city, and which is more fullfilling?

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   edhanposted 11 years ago

   It is not the church location that matters instead it will be the pastor or the priest who is giving the summon daily.
   
   The message from the bible that is being interpreted by the priest will make the world of difference. As long as the true message is being said and we learn from it.

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      backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      No doubt the message is most important and God will, no matter what, put the message in front of you!  He is mysterious that way!  But do you think in big churches the flock becomes a number instead of sheep?

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   MarleneBposted 11 years ago

   I think the dynamics of the two churches differ in the sense of the type of people who are most likely to attend said church. For instance, I lived in a large bedroom community with a mega church that served a wide area in that region. Although I enjoyed the sermon and the people, "friendly" was orchestrated, meaning, people were assigned roles as greeters. Instead of meeting people naturally and getting to know them, what a greeter did was offer a smile and a quick handshake and went on to the next person. After church, people rushed off, in a hurry to get on with the rest of the day.
   
   Now, after retiring and moving to the country, I attend a rural church. It is a small church with just a few people. Everyone knows everyone. It's like a small family. Most of the people who attend the church are farmers and they take Sunday off. So, they tend to hang out and talk to one another after church. Plus, to boot, the pastor's sermons are awesome.
   
   Between the two churches, both pastors deliver the word beautifully. But, the environments are completely different.

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      backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree the environments are so different.  I love the countryside atmosphere and the people are alot less stressed!  As it was discovered in hub questions, the church is more than not the people who gather and not the building in which we pray.

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   peeplesposted 11 years ago

   As an atheist I will admit my opinion is likely to be biased. In foster care I attended every type of church. I saw that the big city churches tend to waste a lot more money on trying to bring people in. They become a big business. They tend to care more about collecting money to draw people in but gave back less to the community. The small churches were more apt to spend the money they collected on helping others by starting food banks, helping people pay bills, and I even saw one who ran a pet program to help people care for animals. As for fullfilling, I can't answer that part. Big churches are best usually for people who are there to here the bible and not actually do much else. Small churches tend to build relationships with each other that carry over into their every day life and community.

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      backporchstoriesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Though I walk with Jesus, I have to agree with you on the big church, big business issue.  Seems like the individual becomes a number rather than a sheep!

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   Squirrelgonzoposted 11 years ago

   Rural Churches are usually a little bit smaller than churches in cities-albeit because of the differences between the population in rural areas vs the population in cities.
   
   As far as for the feeling of fulfillment in a certain church-I would say that is up to the person. Personally, I have been to churches that have edified me to where I left feeling like I was embraced by the entire church and I have been to other churches where I am snubbed simply because I have tattoos.
   I have also witnessed the search for filled pews-without the application of compassion and the denial of bible studies for people on the poorer side of town-simply because it was a poorer side of town.
   
   So, I would say that where ever learning occurs, edification is present and the Word of God is taught without twisting verses to suit the pastor/churches needs-is the most-is the ideal church to go to. Churches are hospitals for the broken. Sometimes you have to go through a few of them before you find the right one.

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   ackman1465posted 11 years ago

   Great!!!!  So now we learn that the "religion" you get is premised upon the LOCATION of the building in which you practice it....
   
   Makes me think of:   "What's your favorite kind of car... Ford or Chevy?"  Go to a Ford dealer and he'll tell you why his car is the best;  then, ditto for your Chevy dealer......
   
   P.S.  Which bunch of churches is preferable as far as actually getting in to Heaven????

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