We had a lot of trouble picking a church when we moved to San Diego. The problem is we do not want our church experience to be like going to a rock concert but we also want a church that is forward thinking and open minded. After bouncing around churches in San Diego for a couple of years we finally made Grace our home and we are both very happy there. Pastor Tim preaches from the Bible but he mixes in plenty of comedy and he does a good job of keeping my attention, which as Rachel can attest to is challenging. We also got a lot of benefit out of joining a young couples small group. Although we do not make it every week we make it a priority to go when we are in town.
We had a lot of debate when we set up our budget about what percentage we should donate to church and what percentage we would donate to charities that I thought were “more fun and hands on”. We eventually found a mix that works for us but I definitely encourage you to donate to something no matter how small the donation is. We once had a pastor that offered a “money back guarantee” on all donations saying that if your life was not positively impacted 10x more than your donation they would pay your donation back! Although I cannot offer you this same guarantee I will say we have never regretted giving no matter how little or much we had to offer.
If you are in the San Diego area and want to learn more about Grace click here.