.church in a movie theater.

My husband and I have been church hunting for the past 6 months or so.

We left a great church that we had attended for the majority of our marriage (but had never joined) because of a very important missing element: friendships.

The preaching was great and the people were kind, but those close relationships and connections were missing.

I think it both hit us around the same time that there just might be another church out there for us.

We didn't foresee that our church hunt would lead to an "identity crisis" of sorts. We had to decide what elements of a church are most important to us, what worship style of music makes us feel most connected to God, and just where do we fit in?

Thankfully, our denomination is set and we have always agreed on that. However, there are numerous differences within that denomination, and this is where we had to decide which practices we agree with and which we were willing to compromise on.

The past few months have been filled with a variety of experiences, all of which helped us develop our "religious identities."

For example, one church was filled with sweet people, but the music was completely drab and unmoving. We learned which style of worship moves our hearts the most.

One church was full of people we know and call friends, and the music was awesome. This is the church we visited the majority of the past few months. Because I knew so many people there, I was ready to jump right in and make it our home. Hubs wasn't as eager as I was because the preaching style wasn't quite touching on things that he would've liked it to. After I realized he was mostly only going for me but his enthusiasm wasn't there, I knew it was time to continue the search.

One church we didn't even go in because, once we realized we were one of about 8 cars in the parking lot, we realized a teeny tiny church was not on our list of desirable characteristics.

Six months into this thing, we went to a new church that one of my good friends attends. This church has no building of their own yet and meets in in the town movie theater.

We've only been once, so I don't want to jump the gun or say we've made up our mind, but I can say I see the potential here.

Worship style? Check.

Doctrinally sound, challenging, relevant preaching? Check.

Friendliness? Check.

And the big one: Hubs and I both want to go back? Check.

Praying for God's guidance as we continue to search for the church we can eventually call our home.

Also, feeling thankful for this journey we've been on together, the research we've been forced to do, and the decisions we've had to make that has culminated into a deeper belief system and confidence in where we stand religiously.