Man it’s been like 10 years so I don’t know if the community is even active anymore but I feel like I discovered some neat spots while geocaching in the area. Just watch out for cops; people around here love to call 911 when they see people existing outdoors

You can’t, they can’t on you either. It’s a personal choice and you have to go with your faith on it.

Absolutely. Also, for such a relatively small church, they arguably have one of the loudest voices in standing up for minorities and LQBTQ+, and other similar communities.

At all the marches, peaceful protests, you will see them there showing them they are loved by God. With a facilty 80x smaller than JRA, and unlike JRA, they open their doors for the homeless as a shelter when needed.

tried the airport? there always looking for ramp agents

Trust me when I say US Mobile (NOT US CELLULAR). I used Verizon for years because it's the best around SGF. I decided I wanted something cheaper but the same quality. US Mobile uses Verizon towers yet makes no limitations like a lot of the other brands that use Verizon towers. It's been incredible and very well priced.

You know you shouldn't attend a church when someone who deconstructed recommends it.

+1 for Red Tree. For such a small church, they give so much to so many people and organizations, and they treat everybody so well.

taking this to heart. really shocked how much good advice there is here.. my parents are good ppl just that i wanted to speak my mind a little bit and knowing them, theyd eventually find something to bring up to change my mind. so thx man

Amen brother, Jesus would have had a fit.

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You graduated from trade school? And post graduation you can't be hired because you're too weak?

New Life Church is south Springfield close to nixa and consistently has good messages.

I would add on to this and say, tell them you feel more comfortable with a smaller, more close knit congregation. Tell them you really want to get to know the community you go to church with, and that James river is just too large to do that.

I'm not a church goer anymore, but I went to James river for a while and it felt like... having church in an airport. Too many cooks in the kitchen, too many passengers on the bus. It felt like worshiping an institution instead of a deity.

If they really start an argument with you and you want to be petty to shake their conviction, you can point out that they have two Starbucks in there, and a gift shop, and that makes you uncomfortable because Jesus was staunchly against people making money on church grounds. Mark 11:15-17 You can say it makes you uncomfortable that they are going against his teachings.

Good luck to you kid

I’ve hiked/explored just about everything in a 2 hour radius. What are you looking for? Are you looking for more of an Urbex kinda thing? More of a deep wilderness kind of thing?

This is such a great response! I 100% agree.

>im not old enough for a driver’s license, so yeah i cant go anywhere.

So, just to address this particular issue, there are churches that will come pick you up. You've seen the church vans? They'll go around and fetch church members for services if they need transportation.

>“you not wanting to go means you need god more than ever!”

Good thing you can find God in more places than just James River...pretty sure the apostles managed to somehow make due despite not having a coffeeshop or concerts for the first churches.

It’s hard when you aren’t feeling any spiritual fulfillment from a church, and harder when you don’t have a strong voice in the decision on where to go.

Maybe you can start by asking your parents what they DO like about it and what’s important to them in a church. Lead that into a conversation about why you feel there’s a fakeness to the youth service. Let them know that the issues you’re seeing are turning you away from the church and not towards it. Explain what you like about your grandparents’ church.

Yep, bit of a drive from the south side but worth it. Great youth program too.

JRA is not a church. It's a business. A giant, tax free business with a cult following and enough power to keep things quiet.

I go to Palmer Heights and it's very much the only church that I've been to that just makes sense. It's small, so there's always room to speak up if you have questions or anything you would like to add. Very much come as you are. It feels like a family with actual values there.

It's not "hiking" but the downtown tunnels are great urban exploring. Starts or ends near main and olive (bring a flashlight and a friend).

Plus their food is DELICIOUS! 😄

Go where you feel comfortable,

Brentwood Christian Church on Barataria is progressive, LGBTQ+ affirming and accepting of different beliefs. I'm not even religious and I enjoyed going.

we just switched to Visible as well. $35 a phone line on the Verizon network 5g with 50g of priority speeds. So far so good. will end up saving $2000 a year over Verizon.