I am a convert to Catholicism from Evangelical Protestantism.
What I have noticed is this: Catholics meet seldom in the Church building, but often OUTSIDE of the church building. Evangelical Protestants meet often IN the church building, but seldom outside of the church building.
Catholics meet at the actual, physical church building briefly, usually once a week (for only an hour), and sometimes daily briefly (20-30 minutes), for Mass. There are exceptions; many of the elderly are at the church building daily for various activities and service projects. But most Catholics do not attend parish Bible studies, parish discussion groups, parish social groups, etc.
The rest of the week, all the other hours are spent in secular activity OUTSIDE of the church building… Yes, it is good and wholesome secular activity, and often involves fellow Catholic Christians. But my point is that it is outside of the church building.
Evangelical Protestants are just the opposite. They meet several times a week, often daily, IN the actual physical church building, for extended times. Another poster already mentioned the lengthy Sunday meetings; usually Sunday school and worship service last a minimum of three hours (a hour or so for Sunday school, a short break for “fellowship” involving coffee and sweets, and then worship service for a minimum of at least an hour and a half).
Sunday evening worship is definitely rarer than it used to be. But throughout the week, as I mentioned in my previous post, there are plenty of other scheduled activities and services at the actual, physical church building, and many Evangelical Protestants are actively involved in these activities, which usually last at least an hour, and often longer. Most Evangelical Protestants are involved in at least one, usually more, Bible studies, which usually meet in the church building.
The Midweek activities in many Evangelical Protestant churches begin with an early supper (around 5:00 or 5:30 p.m.), and then continue with club activities for the children, youth group for the teens, and prayer and Bible study for the adults. Usually these last until 8 or even 9 p.m. (A total of four hours in the church if there was a supper, and longer if you are one of the people preparing and serving the supper.)
Thursday evening choir practice is another two hour commitment for many adults. Please understand that often, this is not just a rehearsal. Usually there is a devotion, which means a short Bible reading, an exposition of the reading, and a prayer time, and often requests are prayed for during the prayer time. There is also usually some kind of fellowship (involving sweets) following the choir practices.
If the church has a youth or children’s choir program, this is another few hours a week. Often this is held during the Midweek along with the children’s clubs, so that the family only has to spend one entire evening at the church.
BTW, there is usually a nursery for ALL of these activities, and children three and under are welcome in the nursery. Usually there are activities scheduled for children 4 and up–clubs, choirs, etc. And the nursery and activities are FREE.
I could go on, but my point is that many Evangelical Protestants do very little “secular” activities outside of their church. They don’t “go out” to clubs and drink–they don’t have time because of their church involvements, and many Evangelical Protestants still do not go places that serve alcohol. And they don’t do a lot of theater, movies, concerts, etc.
Organized youth sports has definitely changed the lifestyles of many Evangelical Protestants. Once our family got involved with figure skating, we spent less time at church and more time in the rinks. Many church members criticized us (and others in the church who were involved with organized sports). But one of our good pastors (RIP) told us that it was right that we were in the rinks, because the rinks were our “mission field.” He “got it”–if Christians spend all their time in a church, they will never be salt and light in the WORLD!
Perhaps some of you think this post is rather trivial, but IMO, it is a key reason why Catholics and Evangelicals have a such a hard time getting together and forming strong friendships. Our lifestyles are totally different, and when Catholics are free to meet, Evangelical Protestants are at church!
So IMO, our old pastor was on the right track–organized sports are a GREAT way to get Christians, Catholic, Protestant, and other, as well as people from many different faith backgrounds, together in one place, several times a week. One of the Top Five Reasons why I became Catholic is due to a friendship that I enjoyed with a Catholic man who was one of the skating dads in our rinks. He was so honest, hard-working, pleasant, and straight-talking–this was quite different than many parents in the rinks who were “political.” This man didn’t have a political bone in his body–he just wanted what was best for ALL the kids, not just his. And even though he was a divorced Catholic man (his wife walked out on him to be with other men, plural), he wouldn’t date because there had been no annulment, and he attended Mass when he went to a competition on the weekends.
His quiet life impressed me so much when my husband and I started investigating Catholicism, and I would say it was a “tipping point” for me. Interestingly, we invited this man to our Easter Vigil Confirmation and First Holy Communion, and he CAME! He was thrilled for us!
So I think that as Evangelical Protestants move outside the church doors (with fear and trembling!), it’s a great opportunity for Catholics to get to know them, and for them to get to know real Catholics.
. However, you just have to make it back to church that night. We haven’t had Sunday night service in a few years, but there still many churches that do.