“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire,” Hebrews 12: 28-29 states. Faith Temple: Word of Faith Ministries, located in Jackson, Michigan, is a church different than my home church, Oak Pointe Church located in Novi, Michigan. Both congregations worship in a way that is unlike that of the other, but both congregations worship the same God.  After a recent visit to Faith Temple, I realized that there are differences in the way that the people dress, the way that the audience interacts with the speaker and how they react during the sermon, but there is also a commonality among the choice of instruments used to sing praises to God, the architecture of the buildings in which both congregations worship, and the ministries both churches provide to reach out to all of the members of their congregation.

Firstly, when I normally attend church on Sundays, it is not uncommon to see high school students in jeans and sweatshirts, or jeans and a business casual type top. The older people of the congregation can usually be seen wearing fancier clothing that is much more modest and mature than that of the younger members of the congregation. The dress style at Oak Pointe is much more youthful due to the influence of the student programs on the entire church. The congregation at Oak Pointe is composed of a variety of people of all different ages and ethnicities, but it ranges mostly from middle school aged students to grandparents and great-grandparents with a large number of people ranging from twelve to thirty-five. In order to prepare to visit Faith Temple, I had to make a trip home to bring clothing that would help me fit in a little better. At Faith Temple, everyone dresses up, not to the nines, but fancier than what most people would wear for a casual outing down the street.  The congregation at Faith Temple is more influenced by the elderly people. There were not very many students in the main service, which transfers into a less youthful style of dress.

Secondly, every Sunday as I walk into the doors of the sanctuary, I receive a bulletin from a greeter. Inside that bulletin is an insert that has blanks for me to fill in during the sermon.  At the start of the service there is praise and worship, followed by a time to give the offering and hear the announcements of what is going on around the church. Oak Pointe also has a sound system that the pastor uses because the room is so large that he would be unable to project his voice to the hundreds of people that show up to the three services on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. It is also uncommon to see lots of people with Bibles. The verses that are used in the sermon are projected on two screens that are located to the sides of the stage. The only time that noise is made during the sermon is the occasionally fits of laughter or the cry of a baby. Comparatively, at Faith Temple, everyone who wanted to take notes had to bring his or her own notebook, or other form of paper, and a writing utensil. It was also common to see people with their own Bibles and they were taking notes in the margins. The speaker, who was a guest speaker on the day of our visit, was intense and passionate about what he was saying. He was using a microphone, but could have gone without one since he was projecting his voice and was speaking very loudly. The audience listened intently and was not afraid to shout out “Amen” or “Hallelujah” in the middle of one of his sentences. The speaker encouraged it. There was also a time for the offering, as well as a separate time for people to give their tithe and then even as the preacher spoke people would occasionally walk and put money on the stage.

Thirdly, one of the things that I adore about Oak Pointe is the worship time. There is a modern band that includes instruments like a drum set, an electric guitar, a keyboard, other kinds of drums and percussion, a bass guitar and sometimes the flute, cello or violin, and an added vocalist or an entire choir. The band is not set up on one side of the stage or arranged in a certain manner, it can change from week to week. The worship is usually very calm. There is no dancing down the aisles. The most common way that people show how moved they are by the worship is by lifting their hands and singing loudly.  The words to the songs that are being sung are also displayed screens for everyone to see. That way if a person does not know the words they are able to follow along with the words. At Faith Temple, there is a “band” section on the stage. It is composed of an organ, a keyboard, a bass guitar, and a drum set. There were four total vocalists; there was a male that had the lead vocal and then there were three women that were back-up singers. Both congregations sing more modern songs. There are not old hymns from a hymnbook that can be stereotypically found in more traditional churches. Since the congregation of Faith Temple is predominately African American, I noticed that there were some similarities between the worship segments of this church to a church service that I attended in Africa. The church in Africa was also very modern and had the same type of instruments. I even noticed that both bands were located on the same side of the stage area. The worship at Faith Temple is very interactive. There are people that dance either in the aisles or in front of their seats. The words to the songs were not displayed on screens for everyone to see. Everyone that was a part of the congregation knew the songs by heart. It was difficult for me to sing along because I did not know the words, but eventually I was able to catch on and join in on their worship.

Fourthly, in the past few years, Oak Pointe has recently moved to a permanent location. For the first ten years that Oak Pointe existed, they moved between Novi High School, Novi Middle School, and Northville High School. The building where the church is now located is very modern. It is a brick building, but very airy and light. To any visitor the main atrium, with a fountain where baptisms occur, looks like a person is walking into a mall. I do not know the history of Faith Temple, but the building that we had service in was a modern building. Both congregations have sanctuaries that do not have pews and each person sits in his or her own chair. The sanctuary at Oak Pointe also serves as a gymnasium for the youth groups that meet during the week. It appeared that the room where the Faith Temple service was held in could be used for other functions besides having everyone there for church on Sunday mornings.

Fifthly, Oak Pointe has a men’s ministry, a women’s ministry, a children’s ministry, a single’s ministry, and a couple’s ministry. I was an active volunteer in Oak Pointe’s children ministry, and it is awesome to know that the church wants to focus on pouring into the lives of the children of the church. I know that without the youth programs at Oak Pointe, I would not be the Christian that I am today. I love that Oak Pointe is dedicated to the youth, just as they are the rest of the congregation. During the announcements at Faith Temple, I noticed that they had different ministries in which people could participate. They announced a men’s ministry lunch, and I believe there was a women’s ministry event. I also believe that Faith Temple had a children’s ministry for the younger children. I do not know what other ministries that Faith Temple provides, but I believe that like Oak Pointe, they are trying to reach people in all walks of life.

Even though Oak Pointe and Faith Temple are different types of churches, the thing that is most important is that they worship the same awesome God. Matthew chapter four, verse ten states, “Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ” Both churches worship God and serve him only. No matter what the differences are among the people, how they dress, how they interact with the speaker and how they react during the sermon, or if there is a similar use of instruments, a similar modern architecture, and similar ministries that are used to reach all the members of the congregation, it is about all about serving God and worshiping him. In the end, it boils down to the God that we serve and worship, not what church we attend.