How To Choose a Church

One question that I always hear people asking is “how do you find a good church, when there are so many bad ones out there”? To answer this question we have to first ask ourselves a question. What is our primary purpose in going to a church? Is it to have fellowship with like-minded believers? Is it to “recharge” for the coming week and all the challenges that may be thrown our way? Is it to network with other Christians to find a good business opportunity? Or is it to give glory and honor to the one who has saved us from our sin and the sentence of death that unrepented sin carries with it? I really think it’s the latter. Because while all the things I’ve mentioned above can and do happen at a church, they should not be our primary reason for going there. Our primary reason for going to church is to honor, glorify, worship and be in fellowship with God.

Some things to consider when selecting a church are:

One, what is your denomination, if you have one. We are all Christians first and foremost. I myself am a Lutheran of the LCMS variety. So of course that means that church coffee hour is the fourth sacrament and the term "Jello Salad" is redundant. But back to business, if we wish to continue in our journey with the Lord and grow in our walk with Him, we should do so at a church that teaches what we consider to be true based upon our reading of the scriptures. I attended a non-denominational church prior to becoming a Lutheran, so I did some things that most people don’t do when looking for a new church. More on that in step three. You’ll also want to make a note of how many services they have and what kind of worship services they offer. Some churches are straight traditional and only offer one type of service. Most churches however have a contemporary service, a blended service and a traditional service. The blended service is a mixture of traditional and contemporary and is a nice compromise if you absolutely can’t stand either total traditional or total contemporary.

Second, you should consider the church’s location in relation to where you live. If you don’t mind going for a ride two or three times a week, church location probably isn’t going to be that big of a deal for you. However, if you like to feel that your church home is close by, you’ll want to look for a church that is probably within a five to ten mile radius of your home. Not only do you have the weekly service to attend, you may want to attend any of the following: Bible Study, small group meetings, fellowship meetings, exercise classes (yes some churches have these), choir practice, set up for services or break down of services, or any extra classes you have opted to take, as time in your schedule allows. If you attend a church that is further away, it becomes real easy to say, “I don’t want to go to church today because it’s so far away” or “I just don’t have the energy” or “I don’t have the time” or “I won’t be back to see the big game.” Sunday is God’s day. This is the one day a week that is set aside for worship of Him and all He has done for you. Plus, all He’s asking is an hour a week of your time at the absolute minimum. He’s given you 76 or so years on this earth, can’t you spare an hour a week? Is that really so unreasonable? I think not.

Third, and this one is to me the most important, you should look at the documents and teachings that the church you are attending adheres to, both currently and historically. These will be anything that are confessional statements for the church. Documents that go beyond the scope of their statement of beliefs and/or faith. Since I’m a Lutheran, for me such documents would be The Augsburg Confession and the Book of Concord. Others may include, Luther’s Small Catechism, Luther’s Large Catechism, and the Lutheran Service Book. You will save yourself a lot of time and worry if you find out what statements and doctrines the church you are thinking of attending holds to and whether or not you agree with them. You don’t want to become a member and find out later that your church doesn’t agree with you on an aspect of theology that may be a “deal breaker” for you. If you do your research well, you will find a church home that is perfect for you.

Lastly, you should attend your prospective new church at least three times before deciding to attend or move on. Now does this mean you go for three weeks in a row and then decide if you should move on? Not necessarily. In my opinion, you should draw up a list of churches that are in close proximity to your house, so you don’t fall into the temptation of not going due to distance, and attend all the churches on that list once. If you find you really liked one, go back for a couple more visits to see if it still is as impressive to you as it was the first time you went. Now, if you at any time feel uncomfortable in a church your visiting for whatever reason, write the reason down so you’ll remember it, later on and cross that church off your list. You can also walk out of a service but I personally find that disrespectful and rude. If you can manage it, also talk to the pastor of any church you are seriously considering attending. He can often times answer your questions much better than the parishioners because he or she (depending upon what kind of church it is), is responsible for the direction of the church. If you follow these steps, I am sure you will find a church that will meet your needs for years to come.