Growing up I always thought that church meant the building I went to for an hour and a half every Sunday and sometimes during the week for special events. As I got older I realized that though the physical structure is necessary for safety, comfort, and organization, it is not necessary for people to have a "church". Now I believe that a church is its people.
During the beginning of the Second Great Awakening, religion was proclaimed, spread, and talked about on a person to person basis. Evangelical leaders like Charles Finney went from community to community, sharing what they knew and believed about God and how people should act. There was a lack of physical structure and heirarchy. This personal approach made people really get into these revivals and the religious movement as a whole. It was about one's personal relationship with God, not the relationship with the preacher or the church. I really admire this awakening and I still see its effects today.
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