These days, with modern
technology like the phone book and the internet, it is
fairly simple to find a church to attend. What I’m
talking about is a church where you will feel like you
belong like you are part of the family of Christ. Right
up front I will tell you I am not a theologian, not a
pastor, and no kind of expert in the field of finding
churches.
I am however very experienced at what I call ‘church
shopping’. Just like you shop for that pair of jeans
that fits just right, like you shop around for the best
deal on an automobile or how you will visit house after
house before you find that one piece of real-estate that
you want to call home you can search for a church too.
If anything you should put more effort into finding a
church than any of those things mentioned. Of course some
people are born into a church family. Parents,
grandparents, and even great-grandparents all went to the
same church so it’s only natural that you would
attend that same church – you are already family and
have your place in the home.
Who needs help are the new believers who may have never
gone to church before, with our mobile transient society
many are now relocated to place hundreds or even
thousands of miles from their childhood homes and
churches. These are the people who need help, the ones
who may not want to play Russian roulette with the yellow
pages of the phone book.
The following is a list of simple tips that I found very
helpful when I was searching for a church home:
#1 Ask friends, family, or co-workers where they go to
church. Often this will lead to an invitation to attend
their church which makes it very nice because then you
already know someone there. You can also ask questions
about the church such as beliefs, service times, and
activities. At the time I was searching I had a pre-teen
so was particularly watchful for a church that had an
active youth group.
#2 Don’t judge a book by it’s cover! Just
because a church meets in a school gymnasium or is the
largest church in the county doesn’t mean it’s
not for you. I thought I wanted the small everyone knows
everyone atmosphere in a church but was very surprised
when I ended up at that huge church where you could never
know everyone.
#3 The first time you visit a church pay attention to
what is going on around you. Are you welcomed and made to
feel comfortable? Or are you ignored and left to fend for
yourself? In an article to come I will be covering ‘church
greeter’ in more detail but for now one of the most
important things about any church is how they welcome new
visitors.
#4 Don’t go to a church with the attitude of ‘what
can they do for me’. Going with that attitude you
have a good chance of being disappointed with any church.
A far better way to go is with the attitude ‘what
can I do for this church’. If they don’t have a
nursery and you love caring for little ones possibly you
could help to start a nursery. If they don’t have a
pianist and you can play the piano maybe you could help
there.
#5 Look at the prospective church as if you were a part
of it – where will you fit in. You don’t want
right off to try to change the church for example if they
only sing gospel hymns and you love contemporary gospel
you may eventually introduce contemporary but in the mean
time can you be happy every Sunday singing only gospels?
#7 If you attend a church and there is a guest speaker
who bores you to death – don’t rule out that
church. Give them a chance; it’s very possible their
pastor is the most amazing speaker in the world. Be alert
to things that are out of the ordinary such as a special
occasion such as Easter or Christmas Eve where there are
a million of people who don’t normally attend
church.
#8 Pay attention to the beliefs or doctrine of the church
– what are the preaching and teaching. If this is
way different than your beliefs you will not feel
comfortable there and there will be problems down the
road. It’s much better to simply move on to another
church. Of course if there is only one church for 100
miles you may not have this option but if possible you
would be best off finding a church that does have the
same beliefs or very similar as you.
#9 This really should be first and foremost – pray!
Pray before you attend the church, pray that God will
help you find the right church for you and your family,
pray for guidance in deciding after you have visited.
It took me several years to find a church home where I
felt I belonged and what was fun was it was just a few
miles from my home and I had lived within 5 miles of the
church for almost 20 years. My hopes and prayers are that
you will be guided to the right church for you.
