How to Find a Church

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.