Faith Exploration By Gisela Arellano There are hundreds and hundreds of religions, yet you can only belong

to one. According to a Pew Forum study, 47% of Americans stay with the religion they first joined. It leads me to wonder how one can know if their religion is THE ONE. I decided to go to a Pentecostal Christian Church to explore a different religion than my. One of my friends is a Pentecostal Christian and she was able to invite me to her church. The service started at 11 am. I was expecting the place where they held their service to look like a church but it didnt. Their church was a small lecture hall in a small apartment building. As I walked in, there were two people greeting everyone with a handshake or a small hug. I just gave them a handshake and then proceeded to choosing a place to sit. There were 9 rows of 5 to the right and the same to the left, leaving a place in the middle for people to walk through and that lead to the front. My friend and I sat in the middle right row so that we were neither at the very front nor at the very back. The service started by an introduction prayer which a lady gave. She was standing at the front of the room next to a podium, closing her eyes in concentration, and speaking with a loud strong emotional voice thanking the lord for everything. After the lady finished her prayer, the lyrics of a song were displayed at the white screen in front of the room and everyone started singing. There were two musicians, one was playing the drums and the other one was playing an electronic piano and singing at the front of the room. The singer was a really good singer and in each of the

songs he sang he demonstrated his strong faith for God. After singing, clapping, dancing along a couple of songs, everyone sat down once their leader stood up to read from a part of the bible. Everyone got out their bibles and followed along as their leader read. I felt like I was the only one without a bible, even the younger kids had one. After the pastor finished reading from the bible there was more singing, dancing, and clapping along with the Christian songs. I just stood there clapping watching how some people had their right arm raise, palm up, eyes closed, and dancing along with the music; others were simply clapping and singing along. Once a month they do kind of what Jesus did for the Last Supper. The pastor once again goes to the front of the room and recites a part from the bible where Jesus says that his body is the bread hes blood is the wine. The pastor uses really small pieces of bread that kind of look like a mini pop-tarts. They are passed around the room in a tray along with small plastic cups holding a reddish liquid inside. Anyone who believes they are doing well and deserve the body and blood of Christ can take a piece of bread and a cup, even young kids. After that, the people are separated into groups. The teenagers go to a small room next to the lecture hall, the kids that know how to read and write go to a different room, the rest of the kids go to another room, and the adults stay in the lecture hall. I went to the kids that know how to read and write group because my friend was their teacher and I wanted to see what kind of things children learn as Pentecostal Christians. They each had their booklet that contained activities for them to do while in class. One of the activities involved memorizing a small

verse from the bible which they had to accomplish before the class ended. After the class ended, the kids went to their parents and then everyone left. I did not feel any spiritual presence during the service but the people seem to have a strong faith and devotion for God. Works Cited Allen Greene, Richard. "Americans Not Losing Their Religion, but Changing It Often." CNN. Cable News Network, 27 Apr. 2009. Web. Dec. 2013.