Rome Baptist Church

Well folks, I finally went to church today. (I know, I'm totally losing spirituality points by admitting that. I've been into several churches along the way, though...!) My program, Study Abroad Italy, provided a handbook that included a list of religious services in English that we could attend in Rome. I found the one Baptist church that exists in all of Rome...I was really hoping it would be called First Baptist Church of Rome, but it's just RBC: Rome Baptist Church. I decided to go hunt it down yesterday, since I didn't want to be searching for it on Sunday morning and be late. I had its address, and I had to find this piazza that was microscopic on my map. I found it though, and the entrance looked like nothing but a little hole in the wall. If I hadn't been looking for it I would never have seen it. (I promise I will post a picture of at least the outside, but I felt like it would be kind of awkward to start taking pictures today, so I left the camera in my bag.)

This morning I found it again, in time for Sunday School. I must say that this church has been one of the most amazing experiences I've had thus far in Rome. The church is an incredibly diverse body of believers. Although the services are conducted in English, and the members all speak English, they are mostly people from non-English-speaking countries. The sweet lady who showed me around this morning, named Divina, is from the Phillipines, and she told me that about 30 Phillipinos are currently active in the church. There's also a substantial contingent of African (from various countries) and Chinese members, along with several Italians and a few British and Australian members. It was amazing to sit in Bible study, and in the sanctuary this morning, worshiping with all these people who seem to have nothing in common except for their love for Christ and each other. When we sang, "Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord," suddenly the words had a new weight and meaning for me. I have always known about people in other countries who worship God, especially since at my church we like to focus on international evangelism, but I guess it just hits home a lot harder when you can get outside of your country and region and see for yourself how God works in other countries. It may look very different from the West Texas way of doing things, but it's still so beautiful. For instance, I found myself being hugged and kissed on the cheeks by Italian and Phillipino members during greeting time...instead of shaking hands. I think I would have had a heart attack if that happened to me back home, but here it was just kind of different, and pretty cool.

But it wasn't as different as you might think: it was very Baptist, too. It made me laugh a lot when Pastor Dave (who is from Colorado) made a reference in this morning's sermon to the Baptist love for food. I guess it's universal! Hahaha. We sang songs that I knew very well, like "To God be the Glory" and "Amazing Grace," straight out of the Baptist Hymnal, just like the ones in my hometown church. And it was about the same size as my hometown church, with about 120 people showing up for worship service. I felt completely at home while at the same time completely amazed. It was very cool.

At the end of the service, the members were asked to sit while the guests were asked to remain standing and introduce themselves. I was surprised to be put on the spot like that, but I didn't really mind. After the service, I met several really amazing people. Pastor Dave is amazing, along with his wife. Katie, a student from Indiana, is the intern at the church this summer, and she invited me to come have gelato with her after prayer meeting on Wednesday. And right after the service, a nice young guy named David came up to me and said, "You're a student from Texas? So am I!" He is from Dallas and goes to SMU, and is currently studying at Loyola University, which is another American university here in Rome. We talked for a long time about the things we liked about Italy, and the things that were weird, etc. He told me he was really glad to meet someone who was enjoying it, since apparently all the other kids in his program are whiny, too. (What is it with all these American college kids?) He told me that he found the church when, just on a whim, he searched for "baptist church rome" on the internet and their website came up. Who would have thought, right?

So anyway, church this morning was amazing, and I can't wait to go back. Being away from home has taught me just how much I need the fellowship of other believers...just how valuable that is. I miss my church at home so, so much. But coming to RBC was just what I needed today. I am so glad that God has given me a chance to see Him working here!