Home I Am New Here 10 Things You've Heard About Church...

Search

Location
The Avenue
The Hilton Garden Inn
19677 E Jackson Drive
Independence, MO 64057

Directions | Google Maps

Service Day & Time
Sundays
10:45 A.M.

Lead Pastor
Nick Kendall
10 Things You've Heard About Church PDF Print E-mail
... and Why The Avenue Is Different
  1. You have to dress up.
    You don't have to dress up to come. In fact, most aren't dressed up. Dress up if you want to, but it's not required or expected. Come worship as you are, and don't worry about your iron for the day.
  2. It's boring.
    We can't guarantee that you'll never be bored at The Avenue, but we do have several things happening each week. Surely you won't be bored with everything! Beyond worship service, we have social events, LET'S EAT, life groups, and mission projects to not be bored at.
  3. There are lots of rules.
    "Give me that old time religion" is a great old song, but not so much a great lifestyle. It's easy to associate church with rules and religion, but that's missing the point. Church is about Jesus. At The Avenue, we preach Jesus. What comes from a relationship with Jesus is a lifestyle of becoming more and more like Him.
  4. It's full of hypocrites.
    The Avenue isn't full of hypocrites, but it is full of sinners. We have all fallen short and have a chance of holiness only because of Jesus. Even though we're striving to be more like him, we still fall short and always will. Some of us may be hypocritical at times, but we teach confession, repentance, and keep each other accountable when we're being hypocritical or not behaving Christ-like.
  5. Only straight-laced, white puritans go to church.
    It's easy to think that church isn't for me when you don't seem to fit into the "church person" stereotype. At The Avenue, we don't have a mold that we are hoping all of our people fit into. Everyone is welcome regardless of race, gender, age, interests, hobbies or thickness of Bible.
  6. It's too early.
    Our service doesn’t start until 10:45. On the weekdays, most peoples’ stomachs are beginning to growl for lunch, and they've already been in several meetings and received about 40 emails by 11:00.
  7. They always talk about money.
    It’s not all about the almighty dollar. Giving to The Avenue is for those who God has called to be a part of our family. We might talk about giving sometimes, but the message is for the people who are committed to this place. It's our job to fund The Avenue and keep it open; it's your job to visit and learn about Jesus.
  8. You have to be religious to go to church.
    Church isn’t about becoming religious; it’s about building relationships with people and with Jesus. Going to church doesn’t make you religious any more than walking like a chicken helps you grow feathers. The Avenue is a community of people with a common mission of living a Christ-filled life to the best of our abilities, and to build life-long friendships in the process.
  9. I don’t have the time.
    We all have the time, but we don't necessarily make the time. It's easy to feel too busy and like we don't have time for everything. People take time to exercise every day to become, or stay, physically fit. In the same way, people take time to go to church a couple hours a week to be become, or grow more spiritually fit. We all "have the time," the real question is are we willing to "make the time”?
  10. Gas prices.
    Yeah, this is a toughie. Gas is killing us all. But, it's important to put this into perspective. The typical working American drives an average of 30-40 miles a day to and from their place of employment. We drive all over to a favorite restaurant, the movie theater, our kids play sports games, among other things. In the spirit of helpfulness, here are some solutions to save money for gas to drive to church:

    1. carpool to work during the week
    2. carpool to your kids games
    3. limit your commitments throughout the week
    4. eat out less
    5. and run errands after church while you’re out anyway.