The Differences Among The Hope Christian Reformed Church and Vineyard Church of Houston

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A.)
The first church I went to was my coach’s church; Hope Christian Reformed Church. I went to a Sunday morning service. The service was very serious and well planned out. I felt as if every minute was planned and we had to follow it to the tee, everything was very robot like. The program was sort of like a conversation filled with chants and paper turning. The “Liturgist” would say something and then the “People” would reply and ten we would sing a song. I felt like I was at a business meeting rather than a place to worship. I did not feel welcome and was slightly uncomfortable. The way the pews were set up felt very welcoming aside from how hard the pews were. The entire atmosphere was very cold and harsh. I felt as if I coughed everyone would turn and scorn me. Every noise seemed to eco against the walls. It was so cold in every sense of the word. The sanctuary was very dim lit. The few lights that were hanging were very low lights the majority of the light came from the stained glass windows. After leaving the service I felt like I could stop holding my breath. I felt like I was at my grandmother’s church while I was there and that if I did anything wrong I would be scorned. I do not think that I would want to go back to this church. I did not feel welcomed during the service which is the most important thing.

B.)
The second church I went to was Vineyard Church of Houston. This is a youth church that is a part of a nondenominational church that branched off of The Assemblies of God church. I went to a Tuesday night service. This church was very welcoming. I felt as if I was at a family gathering rather a church service. The service started with free time. Free time is not mandatory it is kind of like an afte...

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...is their obligation to lead the children in the right path because of “original sin”. “Through the disobedience of Adam original sin is extended to all mankind.” Because of the mistake made in the beginning the church has a responsibility to instruct the youth in godliness. The church needs to catechize the youth and lay the grounds for their faith to grow. No matter the other difference between these two churches they both are holding their responsibility as Christians to bring souls to Christ.

Works Cited

Exploring Protestant Traditions; W. David Buschart
Viewpoints:Exploring the Reformed Vision; James D. Bratt
The Reformed Pulpit: Volume 1
Reformed Confessions of the 16th Century; Arthur C. Cochrane
The Assemblies of God at the Crossroads: Charisma and Institutional Dilemmas; Margaret M. Poloma
American Evangelical Christianity: An Introduction; Mark A. Noll

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