.. and how The Avenue is a little bit different.

1. You have to dress up.
   You don’t have to get dressed up to come to The Avenue. In fact, most of us are in jeans and comfortable clothing. Feel free if you want to, but it’s not required or expected. Come worship as you are, and don’t worry about your iron for the day.
2. It’s boring.
   We can’t guarantee that you’ll never be bored at The Avenue, but we do have several things happening each week that will help keep you engaged and interested. Beyond worship service, we have social events, life groups, and mission projects around the Kansas City Metro area.
3. There are lots of rules.
   It’s easy to associate church with rules and religion, but that’s missing the point. Church is about Jesus. At The Avenue, we preach Jesus. What comes from a relationship with Jesus is a lifestyle of becoming more and more like Him – not a lifestyle that’s all about rules and religion.
4. It’s full of hypocrites.
   The Avenue isn’t full of hypocrites, but it is full of sinners. We have all fallen short and have a chance of holiness only because of Jesus. Even though we’re striving to be more like him, we still fall short and always will. Some of us may be hypocritical at times, but we teach confession, repentance, and keep each other accountable when we’re being hypocritical or not behaving Christ-like.
5. Only straight-laced, white puritans go to church.
   It’s easy to think that church isn’t for me when you don’t seem to fit into the “church person” stereotype. At The Avenue, we don’t have a mold that we are hoping all of our people fit into. Everyone is welcome regardless of race, gender, age, interests, hobbies or thickness of Bible. We’ve even got several guys and gals with some pretty great tattoos.
6. It’s too early.
   We understand that Sunday is most people’s day off each week. That’s why our service doesn’t start until 10:45. We’ve started our service later so that more can join us and get the rest they need before Monday.
7. Churches always talk about money.
   Giving to The Avenue is for those who God has called to be a part of our family. We might talk about giving sometimes, but the message is for the people who are committed to this place. It’s our job to fund The Avenue and keep it open; it’s your job to visit and learn about Jesus.
8. You have to be religious to go to church.
   Church shouldn’t be about becoming religious; it’s about building a relationship with Jesus and fellow Christians. At The Avenue, we’re all about dropping the religiosity and pouring into genuine, authentic relationships. The Avenue is a community of people with a common mission of living a Christ-filled life to the best of our abilities, and to build life-long friendships in the process.
9. I don’t have the time.
   We all have the time to do just about anything, but it’s usually an issue of if we want to make the time. Just like a commitment to cooking at home more often, working out, or even visiting a relative each week – we have to force ourselves into a new routine sometimes. Attending church is no different. We encourage anyone who has spiritual questions, or those looking for community, to try and make time for church.
10. Churches don’t put our actions where our mouths are.
    One of the biggest values of our church is being missional. This means going out of the church and into our communities around the Kansas City Metro area to form relationships. We strive to take what we learn at The Avenue and impact the world through it. We do this by teaching about missional living each week, as well as setting aside a week every few months to serve the community around us in place of traditional worship service. We believe in worship through serving so we plan a few projects to get us out there, with the people, meeting real needs.