How To Find A Church

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Jessica,

The decision to move your membership to another church is an important decision and should not be done hastily. It is a decision that should be covered in prayer from start to finish and with full trust in God that He will make sure that you are at the church He wants you to be at.

It is important to realize that there is no perfect church. J. C. Ryle said, "Before Christ comes it is useless to expect to see the perfect church." Each church has its own unique sets of strengths, weaknesses and problems, and a large church with a wide variety of ministries is no better than a small church with limited resources.

There are probably several Bible-based churches in your community, and you should ask God for wisdom and guidance in where He wants you to worship and serve Him. After prayerfully consideration, if you feel that God wants you to move your church membership, start learning about the churches in your area that are of your faith. You may contact your denomination's associational/district office for your area or ask friends who are of the same faith about the churches they attend. A church's website is another source. Find out if your local newspaper has a religion section (most newspapers run a religion section once a week), and if they do, check this section regularly to learn about the churches in your community.

The most important thing you need to determine about any church that you plan to attend is what is their statement of faith that is what do they believe. Do they believe that the Bible is inspired by God and without error? Do they believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and that God raised Him from the dead? Are the church's teachings based on the Word of God?

If you find God is drawing you to a church, which appears to be Biblical sound, attend a church service to see if the church's actions and teachings match their statement of faith. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. in Feed My Sheep states, "Where the authentic preaching of the Word takes place, the church is there. And where that is absent, there is no church. No matter how high the steeple, no matter how large the budget, no matter how impressive the ministry, it is something else.".

After your first visit, if God is still drawing you to this church, plan to attend the church for several weeks and try to participate in a variety of the church activities, like the different worship services, small group Bible studies, outreach programs and fellowships. This should give you to get an accurate picture of how the church carries out its different functions, such as preaching, teaching evangelism, giving, encouraging and accountability, and to allow God to show you where He wants you to serve Him in this church. Continue to evaluate the church to make sure its doctrine is Biblical sound, and only join the church, if God leads you to do so. The importance of praying and trusting God throughout this process is crucial and cannot be emphasized enough.

Jim Elliff in Why Should I Join a Church? states that "You, as a Christian, were designed and created by God, not for a life of individuality and self-will, but to fill a niche in the spiritual building called the church.". This is true whether God leads you to join a new church or He directs that you remain at your present church. In either case you should go to church faithfully for worship and find a place within the church to serve God diligently.

I will be praying for you as you seek God's will.