I pastored my last church in 2003. Between July 2002 and November 2008, my wife and I, along with our children, personally visited the churches that are listed below. These are the church names we could remember. There are others we have either forgotten or vaguely remember, so we didn’t put them on the list. Churches in bold we attended more than once. All told, from 2002-2008 we visited about 125 churches. If I added every church I have ever attended or preached in my lifetime the count would be over 200.
If the church has a website, I linked to it. A handful of these churches are no longer open. Emboldened church names we visited more than once.
| Churches We Visited 2002-2008 | Location |
| Our Father’s House | West Unity, Ohio |
| First Brethren Church | Bryan, Ohio |
| First Baptist Church | Bryan, Ohio |
| Grace Community Church | Bryan, Ohio |
| Lick Creek Church of the Brethren | Bryan, Ohio |
| First Church of Christ | Bryan, Ohio |
| Eastland Baptist Church | Bryan, Ohio |
| Bryan Alliance Church | Bryan, Ohio |
| Union Chapel Church of God | Bryan, Ohio |
| Celebrate Life Christian Fellowship | Bryan, Ohio |
| Faith United Methodist Church | Bryan, Ohio |
| Trinity Episcopal Church | Bryan, Ohio |
| Archbold Evangelical Church | Archbold, Ohio |
| Sherwood Baptist Church | Sherwood, Ohio |
| Ney Church of God | Ney, Ohio |
| Ney United Methodist Church | Ney, Ohio |
| Sonrise Community Church | Ney, Ohio |
| Farmer United Methodist Church | Farmer, Ohio |
| Lost Creek Emmanuel Missionary Church | Farmer, Ohio |
| Hicksville Church of the Nazarene | Hicksville, Ohio |
| Community Christian Center | Hicksville, Ohio |
| Grace Bible Church | Butler, Indiana |
| St John’s Lutheran Church | Defiance, Ohio |
| Harvest Life Fellowship | Defiance, Ohio |
| Community Christian Center | Defiance, Ohio |
| Second Baptist Church | Defiance, Ohio |
| First Baptist Church | Defiance, Ohio |
| Grace Episcopal Church | Defiance, Ohio |
| First Assembly of God | Defiance, Ohio |
| Defiance Christian Church | Defiance, Ohio |
| First Presbyterian Church | Defiance, Ohio |
| St John’s United Church of Christ | Defiance, Ohio |
| Peace Lutheran Church | Defiance, Ohio |
| Pine Grove Mennonite Church | Stryker, Ohio |
| St James Lutheran Church | Burlington, Ohio |
| Zion Lutheran Church | Edgerton, Ohio |
| Northwest Christian Church | Edon, Ohio |
| Restoration Fellowship | Williams Center, Ohio |
| Pioneer Bible Fellowship | Pioneer, Ohio |
| Frontier Baptist Church | Frontier, Michigan |
| Salem Mennonite Church | Waldron, Michigan |
| Waldron Wesleyan Church | Waldron, Michigan |
| Lickley Corners Baptist Church | Waldron, Michigan |
| Prattville Community Church | Prattville, Michigan |
| Betzer Community Church | Pittsford, Michigan |
| Fayette Church of the Nazarene | Fayette, Ohio |
| Fayette Bible Church | Fayette, Ohio |
| Fayette Christian Church | Fayette, Ohio |
| Morenci Bible Fellowship | Morenci, Michigan |
| First Baptist Church | Morenci, Michigan |
| Demings Lake Reformed Baptist Church | Demings Lake, Michigan |
| Medina Federated Church | Medina, Michigan |
| Thornhill Baptist Church | Hudson, Michigan |
| First Baptist Church | Hudson, Michigan |
| Rollins Friends Church | Addison, Michigan |
| Canandaigua Community Church | Canandaigua. Michigan |
| Alvordton United Brethren | Alvordton, Ohio |
| Pettisville Missionary Church | Pettisville, Ohio |
| Vineyard Church | Toledo, Ohio |
| Providence Reformed Baptist Church | Toledo, Ohio |
| Lighthouse Memorial Church | Millersport, Ohio |
| Newark Baptist Temple | Heath, Ohio |
| Church of God | Heath, Ohio |
| 30th Street Baptist Church | Heath, Ohio |
| St Francis De Sales Catholic Church | Newark, Ohio |
| Bible Baptist Church | Newark, Ohio |
| Cedar Hill Baptist Church | Newark, Ohio |
| Eastland Heights Baptist Church | Newark, Ohio |
| Northside Baptist Church | Newark, Ohio |
| Newark Brethren Church | Newark, Ohio |
| St John’s Lutheran Church | Newark, Ohio |
| Vineyard of Licking County | Newark, Ohio |
| Vineyard Grace Fellowship | Newark, Ohio |
| Grace Fellowship | Newark, Ohio |
| Faith Bible Church | Jersey, Ohio |
| Vineyard Christian Church | Pataskala, Ohio |
| Cornerstone Baptist Church | New Lexington, Ohio |
| St Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| Nondenominational Church | Angola, Indiana |
| Nondenominational Church | Fremont, Indiana |
| Victory Baptist Church | Clare, Michigan |
| First Assembly of God | Yuma, Arizona |
| Desert Grace Community Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Calvary Lutheran Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Bible Baptist Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Calvary Chapel | Yuma, Arizona |
| Oasis | Yuma, Arizona |
| Faith Baptist Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Valley Baptist Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Calvary Assembly of God | Yuma, Arizona |
| Foothills Assembly of God | Yuma, Arizona |
| Morningside Baptist Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Faith Horizons Baptist Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Stone Ridge Baptist Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Old Order Mennonite Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Grace Bible Fellowship | Yuma, Arizona |
| Calvary Temple of Christ | Yuma, Arizona |
| Maranatha Baptist Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Independent Lutheran Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Community Christian Church | Yuma, Arizona |
| Church meeting in funeral chapel | Yuma, Arizona |
| Pentecostal Church | Winterhaven, California |
| North Holtville Friends Church | Holtville, California |
| Sierra Vista Baptist Church | Sierra Vista, Arizona |
| Hedgesville Baptist Church | Hedgesville, West Virginia |
| New Life Baptist Church | Weston, West Virginia |
We visited all sorts of Christian churches, with varying beliefs and practices. We didn’t visit many Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) congregations. No need — been there, done that. What we found is that the churches we attended didn’t really care about us; that we were just asses in their seats and money in their offering plates. Often, we were treated as if we were unwanted. We were able to get in and out of one church of 300 or so people without anyone speaking one word to us. Congregants were often stand-offish, wondering why we were attending THEIR churches.
I was a pastor for twenty-five years. When someone visited our church, I made sure I introduced myself to them. I made sure they received a visitor’s card. I encouraged church members to warmly welcome new people, knowing first impressions mattered. On Monday or Tuesday, I would call people who visited on Sunday and ask if it would be okay to come and visit them. (I also visited the homes of church members several times a year.) Most visitors said yes. Over the course of twenty-five years, I personally visited hundreds of visitors, often taking one of the men from the church with me. Sometimes, depending on the circumstance, I would ask Polly and one of the church women to visit newcomers.
I believed then, and still do today, that personal contact with visitors is important for church growth (or business growth, in general.) Sitting in someone’s home allows them to feel comfortable and more willing to share their stories and ask questions. By my actions, I was saying to visitors that I cared about them and wanted to help them in any way I could.
I know that part of the reason for doing this is my personality and work background. I was a people person, even though I often craved being left alone. Was it my schtick? I don’t think so. I genuinely wanted to help people. I worked a lot of public-facing jobs, especially restaurant management. I honed my people skills by interacting with customers and staff. According to others, I was good at my job.
Out of the churches listed above, do you know how many contacted us by personally visiting us or calling us on the phone? Five. That means that almost ninety-five percent of the churches we visited showed no interest in us post-visit. Only one church contacted us once, a GARBC church. Several churches we attended for months, never contacted us. We were non-existent to them. Thank you for the offering. See ya next week.
We concluded that most churches didn’t give a shit about us. And then one day, neither did we.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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