{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Church Answers","provider_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com","title":"Things I Didn\u2019t Know the First Time I Ever Attended Church | Church Answers","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"kduCnS4EY0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/things-i-didnt-know-the-first-time-i-ever-attended-church\/\">Things I Didn\u2019t Know the First Time I Ever Attended Church<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/things-i-didnt-know-the-first-time-i-ever-attended-church\/embed\/#?secret=kduCnS4EY0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Things I Didn\u2019t Know the First Time I Ever Attended Church&#8221; &#8212; Church Answers\" data-secret=\"kduCnS4EY0\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Man-Reading-the-Bible.png","thumbnail_width":1200,"thumbnail_height":628,"description":"As I write this post, I\u2019m celebrating today the 51st anniversary of my baptism. I still remember the day well when my pastor baptized me, a new Christ-follower only one week old. The previous Sunday had been my first day in church in my life, and God drew me to Him that day. Here\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking about today, though, as my heart increasingly breaks for so many churches in North America that are disconnected from and unburdened about non-believers around them: I\u2019m remembering how little I knew about church the first time I made my way to that small church in southwestern Ohio. I think about that truth because I don\u2019t want to assume that my non-believing friends today have any more \u201cchurch\u201d knowledge than I had back then in 1974. A friend had shared the gospel with me prior to my going to church, but I still knew nothing about the experience of \u201cchurch.\u201d I suspect some of these memories may seem hard to believe to folks raised in church, but below are some things I just didn\u2019t know when I went to church for the first time."}