sabrina5140
25th December 2006, 07:55 PM
Question: "What should I be looking for in a church?"
Answer: Finding a good church can often be difficult. Many people just "settle" for the church that is closest, or the church they've been going to for years. However, if you aren't being challenged to grow in your faith, if you aren't being led to worship God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, you are pretty much just wasting your time (in my opinion).
A good church is one that is concerned with the spiritual growth of its congregation. It is a place where the Gospel is preached, where sin is condemned, where worship is from the heart, where the teaching is biblical, and where opportunities for ministry (to minister to others as well as to be ministered to) exist. Consider the model of the early church found in Acts 2:42-47 (NIV), "They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity--all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved."
Finding such a church that balances these things well isn't easy, as many, if not most, churches lean more towards one activity than others: some place more importance on the worship part of a service, some focus more on evangelism, some are just places of fellowship. Before you even step foot inside of a church, you should do some homework. Get out the phone book and look at the churches in your area. Find the denominations represented and take a look at the denominational web site. Read their doctrinal statement, their purpose statement, their mission statement, or anything that will give insight as to what they believe as a denomination. If the church itself is listed as having a web site, browse those sites as well, with the goal of getting a feel for what they believe regarding the Bible, God, the Trinity, Jesus Christ, sin, salvation, and man. You are looking for a church that shares your own beliefs and convictions; "discard" the ones that don't.
Next, pick out a few churches that you'd like to visit. Attend service at least twice at each church. Pick up any literature they have for visitors, and pay close attention to their belief statements. Evaluate the church based on the principles we see in the above Acts passage. How was the fellowship? Does the church focus on discipleship? Were you led to worship God? What type of ministries does the church involve itself in? Was the message biblical and evangelical? You also need to feel comfortable; were you made to feel welcome? Is the congregation comprised of people you can identify with?
Because I'm more concerned that the Word of God is taught and preached clearly without excuse than with other aspects of a church, yet I desire a well-balanced church, this is generally the order I will go in when looking for a new church: Evangelical Free > Bible Church > Southern Baptist > Independent Baptist. This obviously shows my conservative doctrinal bent, but I need a church that I can align myself with that shares my own Scriptural convictions. You will need to do the same. Also, don’t forget the importance of prayer. You should be praying about the place God would have you attend from the very start of your search, throughout the search, and through the
Answer: Finding a good church can often be difficult. Many people just "settle" for the church that is closest, or the church they've been going to for years. However, if you aren't being challenged to grow in your faith, if you aren't being led to worship God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, you are pretty much just wasting your time (in my opinion).
A good church is one that is concerned with the spiritual growth of its congregation. It is a place where the Gospel is preached, where sin is condemned, where worship is from the heart, where the teaching is biblical, and where opportunities for ministry (to minister to others as well as to be ministered to) exist. Consider the model of the early church found in Acts 2:42-47 (NIV), "They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity--all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved."
Finding such a church that balances these things well isn't easy, as many, if not most, churches lean more towards one activity than others: some place more importance on the worship part of a service, some focus more on evangelism, some are just places of fellowship. Before you even step foot inside of a church, you should do some homework. Get out the phone book and look at the churches in your area. Find the denominations represented and take a look at the denominational web site. Read their doctrinal statement, their purpose statement, their mission statement, or anything that will give insight as to what they believe as a denomination. If the church itself is listed as having a web site, browse those sites as well, with the goal of getting a feel for what they believe regarding the Bible, God, the Trinity, Jesus Christ, sin, salvation, and man. You are looking for a church that shares your own beliefs and convictions; "discard" the ones that don't.
Next, pick out a few churches that you'd like to visit. Attend service at least twice at each church. Pick up any literature they have for visitors, and pay close attention to their belief statements. Evaluate the church based on the principles we see in the above Acts passage. How was the fellowship? Does the church focus on discipleship? Were you led to worship God? What type of ministries does the church involve itself in? Was the message biblical and evangelical? You also need to feel comfortable; were you made to feel welcome? Is the congregation comprised of people you can identify with?
Because I'm more concerned that the Word of God is taught and preached clearly without excuse than with other aspects of a church, yet I desire a well-balanced church, this is generally the order I will go in when looking for a new church: Evangelical Free > Bible Church > Southern Baptist > Independent Baptist. This obviously shows my conservative doctrinal bent, but I need a church that I can align myself with that shares my own Scriptural convictions. You will need to do the same. Also, don’t forget the importance of prayer. You should be praying about the place God would have you attend from the very start of your search, throughout the search, and through the