Attending a second church

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beloved7

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What are your views on someone attending a second church in the evenings due to their home church (where they are very active in) not having an evening service?
 
Since you are active in your home church, and would not be missing out on anything, I don’t see a problem with it. Assuming you could also cheerfully make some financial contributions to this second church when able, without taking away from your home church.
 
I am considering the same. Especially since I work nights, I have absolutely no opportunity for Christian fellowship during the evenings. I work Monday - Friday 4pm - 12am. So any evening meeting, I'm out.

But, the ARP church that was discussed in a different thread...has an evening service.

I desperately miss Christian fellowship, especially solid fellowship. Since finding more and more the church I'm currently attending has a very, very educated pastor, but the rest of the congregation doesn't seem to want to learn, but more mingle...I'm discouraged.

Maybe fellowship with the other church will be encouraging.
 
I don’t say this to dissuade anyone, but instead to offer a different opinion.

A Sunday evening without a corporate service could be a great time to fellowship in homes.

One of my elders makes it a practice to have a different family over every Sunday evening for fellowship.

Just a thought.
 
I see no problem. Personally I will go to a sister NARPC (OPC) to observe The Lord's supper with the proper elements and to sing Psalms, which my "home" church does neither.

In saying this of course there is maybe slight problem in that a form of discipline is almost taken away. Which is really no problem in that my PCA church would tell the OPC church to withhold if I am under discipline.
 
I don’t say this to dissuade anyone, but instead to offer a different opinion.

A Sunday evening without a corporate service could be a great time to fellowship in homes.

One of my elders makes it a practice to have a different family over every Sunday evening for fellowship.

Just a thought.

“The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.”
 
I would say you shouldn't. Christians are called to be members in one local church, under one ministry and session. Which session would have oversight over you? I don't think it's orderly to be going between churches like that. You should commit to one congregation otherwise you're not truly a part of either.
 
You are required by the fourth commandment to offer a morning and evening sacrifice each Lord's Day by attending the public means of grace. Ideally, you should do so at the congregation where you are a member, but if for some reason your congregation does not hold an evening service, that still does not absolve you from attending public worship. In that case, the next best thing is to go to another congregation in the evening.

For example, my former RP congregation met near a mountainous region of the country, which meant that sometimes in the winter we were snowed in and the roads were closed. I, however, live on the main Belfast to Downpatrick road and was able to one of the other congregations in the evening. To have sat at home when I had the opportunity to go somewhere else would have been a violation of the fourth commandment.
 
Why not just join the congregation which has two services? I don't see in Scripture the notion of a "home" church and a "secondary" church. Yes we are required to offer morning and evening sacrifices but that command doesn't overule all other commands or what is orderly. I don't see how one can fully participate and be fully a member in two separate congregations. Church is not just somewhere to go and listen to a sermon. One can do that at home.

Another issue would be are the two congregations in different denominations? This is an absolute bar as attending public worship in two separate denominations is to tear down the separation which has been raised between them.

If the two congregations in question are in the same denomination I could maybe see it as permissable, but still unwise.
 
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What are your views on someone attending a second church in the evenings due to their home church (where they are very active in) not having an evening service?

Sounds like a good way to spend your time. The local church that you are a member of does not own your time. You are free to attend other services just as you are free to join a bowling league. If a member asked my blessing to join a bowling league during their own time I would feel that they had way too high an esteem for me!
 
My church has evening services the majority of the time, but sometimes cancels (lack of person to preach, people out of town, etc.). I sometimes use this as an opportunity to visit another local church. There are a handful of Reformed churches within 45 minutes from me (all further than my local church) that have evening services. I find it a good blessing to meet with other believers outside of my local church and be able to worship publicly at times I would otherwise not be able to. We have also used this an opportunity for additional family worship/study or fellowship in homes with members of our church.
 
I find nothing wrong with attending another church in the evening as long as it is doctrinally sound and compatible with the "home" church. I wonder why the "home" church isn't having evening service?
 
Why not just join the congregation which has two services?

I agree that that would be better if possible (in fact, it is one of the reasons why I did not join certain PCI congregations after exiting the RPs), but we do not know the full circumstances of the situation mentioned in the OP. Remember, in America, they do not always have the luxury of having several orthodox congregations close to hand. For example, what if the other congregation was an hour's drive away and it was not feasible to make this journey twice each Lord's Day as that would amount to 4 hours of driving in one day.

My comments above were mostly referring to occasional situations where one's own congregation is unable to hold an evening service for some reason (not having adequate pulpit supply would be one scenario). In such circumstances, you should attend another congregation if you can otherwise you are profaning the Sabbath. As a general rule, however, people are better always attending the congregation of which they are a member.
 
I would love to attend an evening service, the congregation to which I belong does not have one, nor does Faith PCA (our sponsor church). At the time I was only aware of one other reformed church within a fifty mile radius. The other reformed congregation is about an hour drive and it is in another denomination, actually it is a part of a better denomination (the OPC as opposed to PCA). I refuse to join that congregation because they share the building with a liberal episcopal congregation, the building belongs to the Episcopal denomination. Perhaps that should be a new thread all of it's own; Is it ok for a biblical reformed congregation to share their building with a liberal congregation?
 
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Thank you all for your input, it is indeed appreciated. I am meeting with an elder soon to discuss this all in my church, and the second church is aware of everything. For further clarification, the second church is confessional whereas my own is not. Needless to say I have a lot to pray about right now.
 
I would love to attend an evening service, the congregation to which I belong does not have one and there is only one other reformed church within a hundred mile radius (unless you count the reformed Baptist one). The other reformed congregation is about an hour drive and it is in another denomination, actually it is a part of a better denomination (the OPC as opposed to PCA). I refuse to join that congregation because they share the building with a liberal episcopal congregation, the building belongs to the Episcopal denomination. Perhaps that should be a new thread all of it's own; Is it ok for a biblical reformed congregation to share their building with a liberal congregation?

There appears to be Faith PCA in Erie: http://www.frcerie.info
and Covenant RPCNA in Meadville: https://sites.google.com/view/meadvillerpc

Also Grove City is within a 100 mile radius of Erie which has several Reformed churches nearby, including ARP, RPCNA, PCA, and OPC...
 
Also Grove City is within a 100 mile radius of Erie which has several Reformed churches nearby, including ARP, RPCNA, PCA, and OPC...


Yes, Faith Reformed is another very good church. I was referring to the OPC in Sharon. Perhaps I should've said a 50 mile radius... I was unaware of the RPCNA church in Meadville. I will edit my original comment.
 
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