Change of A Church

I have been struggling with which Christian denomination is best for our family. My husband and I were both raised ELCA Lutheran but when we moved to Holdrege, we decided to go to an Evangelical Free church because a lot of people we had met guided us there. When we first started going to Trinity, we both really liked it. The pastor was great, the people were inviting but there were little things, really big things to me, that I just didn't agree with.

For example, they do not baptize infants but instead let the individual decide when they feel they have acknowledged Jesus Christ as their savior. They can be ten years old or sixty years old, doesn't matter. It also does not matter to them if they already had been baptized in the past. A friend of mine had a good thought about this practice. He felt like people were using baptism as an external statement about what should be an internal experience of the Holy Spirit coming into you. Which is true. I feel like people use baptism as a "conversation" piece. Of a way to look for the acceptance of others when that's not what it should be. I view confirmation as being that point when you make the conscious decision to follow Christ, which is something Trinity does not do.

Trinity also sees Holy Commuion as a parental decision. When the parent feels the child should receive communion, that's when they can take it. I personally do not agree with that. I understand there is a lot of parental involvement that comes with raising a child to follow Christ but there are some things that I feel someone more "holier" than I needs to bring to light. I also feel that being with peers helps in their understanding of what Holy Communion really stands for.

I am not trying to go on a rant of how Trinity or other E-Free churches perform their services. I am trying to sort out what I expect to gain out of my spiritual life and what I want my children to experience. I do believe that God lead us to Trinity initially because He knew it would force me to question my beliefs and to see what key elements of the church are important that I may have taken for granted as a teenager or young adult. I do enjoy pastor's messages but I feel like I need more and I am just not getting that at Trinity.

Dear God, Thank you for guiding me to question what it means to be a Christian in Your eyes. What it means to really accept Christ and follow his teachings. Help our family to find the church that best represents You. In Jesus' name, Amen.