Never been a visitor...until now.

Well, this is new.
I never just go to church, nor have I ever pew hopped. I am quite simply the committed Christian church goer. There has always been a "home church."
Growing up my sister and I, along with a couple other hard core church going families held the distinction of "church kids." We knew how to trick out the gumball machine, we could say every line of every part to the annual Easter play, we had a corner market on the gold stars in Sunday School, and we knew (and probably still know) every hand motion to every song in the hymnal. We played tag for what seemed like hours after church every Sunday afternoon while our parents ministered, and fellowshipped. Church was like breathing...breath in-sanctuary, breath out-fellowship hall.

It was hard to leave, but upon graduating high school I went to a drumroll please... Church School. I left my home church to gain a second home church AKA the Mega-church. Which can only mean one thing, Mega-involvement. This place was like the disneyland of ministries, it was all there. When this becomes your home church there is so much more to do. I knew the catwalk where the flying angels descended, I could name every entrance and exit on all three balconies, I knew the hidden parking spot on big days, and the fountains held some personal items that slipped during a prayer session.....ahhhh home church.

But alas, like any good church drama, things change. I decided to grow with my Pastor and move to the great (as in large) state of Texas to help start a *New* home church. Oh, the baby church! So exciting! You are in on the ground floor, you greet every new comer as if they are the archangel announcing lotto numbers, you are 5% of the church body, it more then a home church, its a family...meeting in a home! ha!

So imagine my surprise when my path leads me to move 40 miles north of home church. I still go, and will continue to go to my home church. However it leaves a wide gap through the middle of my once a week trek. so my options are
a. just go weekly. 
b. find another midweek church
OR
c. do things the Miriam way, and be a "visitor" to a different church every week documenting my findings in this blog!

The possibilities for research are endless. What does a visitor feel like walking in? Do they really park in the visitor parking? How many free cookies will I consume? Are the youth pastors jokes funny to someone who doesn't know him? Can a heart really connect in one visit to a church? Will they look at me weird? What kind of clever marquees will I run into? What will I LEARN!?!?

Pastors will beat down my door waiting to pick my brain...or you just may find it funny. Either way, I'm doing it!

So what questions should I ask myself when I go into a church?  I'm starting tonight!