Is it time to change churches?

Question

My husband and I have been going to the same church since before we were married. We have been raising our three children here, ages 15, 10 and 8. We have always loved our church and our Pastor. We truly feel he is a man of God. The problem we are having is the church is not what it used to be. Our Pastor used to be on fire for the Lord and now he preaching is just "okay". It seems he is preachig more to the older generation and his messages don't seem to have the life application for us that it used to have. Our children are suffering, as well. Their Sunday School classes are so small they are often the only ones in them. My teenager and I are ready to find a new church but my husband says no. I know he is to be the spiritaul leader but right now I feel like I'm just going thru the motions on Sundays. We have prayed about this and can't seem to come to an agreement. Please help.

Answer 1

Have you confronted the Pastor? The Bible says if you have a problem with a brother GO TO HIM and talk. It also states to take other men of the church with you IF they won't hear your word. You should do this first. Then pray about it...

Answer 2

Your church has to be the right fit for the entire family. If some of you are not being fulfilled then you may want to try a new church that offers not necessarily a better direction, but a more custom-fit direction for your family. It's so amazing and important that you can get your teenage children to go to church...you don't want them to be turned off from it by becoming bored or not receiving anything from what the current church has to offer. I think you should at least TRY some new churches. A sermon from a different pastor may strike something within your husband and then HE can make the decision to change....thus maintaing his leadership position. Good luck! And, of course, the first step is to pray about it!

Answer 3

Maybe you and your hubby should try talking to your pastor. Maybe that will help the situation. In the meantime, make an arrangment with your hubby to go on Sundays but on Wed. nights, you and you children go and visit different churches. If he wants you to grow spiritually and you are being hindered...he will agree. And you can also attend conferences, ladies days, revivals, etc...at different churches. This will help you with what you are struggling with. You probably need to pray and ask God to reveal to your hubby and change his heart in that matter. Ask God to make your needs known to your hubby. God is always there in the mist of it all. He sees and knows all! You can also do devotions at home with the kids. Talk to the teachers at sunday school and ask them to combine the classes so that some teachers can have a free sunday or whatnot to visit the preaching service. You really have alot of options. Get up an hour early and get your preaching on Sundays on T.V. to prepair you for your church. This way..you will be more open to your church and how God is moving. Mention to the praise leader that it would be nice to be able to have a longer praise and worship before the bread of life is given. I really don't know what all to tell you...I am Pentecostal and our church is really close. Our Pastor is always up for suggestions on how to make things better. Hope things go great with everything...God Bless!!

Answer 4

Well, a pastor has the God given duty, to preach to the individual soul AND the family unit. Maybe he is fulfilling the spiritual needs in your husband but how about you and your kids? How about your family? If your husband is truly a man of God, then he would understand the NEED to change churches. Remember, finding God
is never going to be a static process. Christians need to often stir up the pot MANY times before they truly find God.

Answer 5

I feel if your heart and soul are not into it you should not be going to church at all.
Your connection should be with God not some church somewhere.
People who go to church for reasons other than connecting with God are just not right. I see many of these folks every day. They are in a fantasy world and thing they are saved just for going on Sunday morning or something.
I don't go to church for the reason of all the phony people who are there. I have a very strong connection with God and there is nothing any one can say or do to change it. But I can tell you if you are going just for the sake of going.people will see right through you and it is not a very pretty picture.
You should talk to your husband and see if he would be willing to at least try a different church (just once) Surely you guys have friends who go someplace else?
Also if your children are not having fun you should change because you don't want them to begin hating it! Forcing something that boring on your children will make them resent it later in life. And you don't want that. They should find Church fun and exciting and want to go to be with their friends.

Answer 6

The only answer I can give you is to pray until the Lord either tells you to stay or instructs you to leave. Look for the leading of the Lord. Too often as Christians we move without waiting for the leading of the lord. Your husband is supposed to be the spiritual leader of the family, but if the lord is calling for change in your spiritual growth and your marriage is solid, you will want to do what is best for your family, and t he lord will lead you to do just that. Things aren't always going to be comfortable, but nothing worth having is, we all have to work at something. Good luck, and remember to pray for God's leadership and direction.

Answer 7

The problem is organized religion it is Dying and with it the passion. For to long they have entangled themselves into politics and altered their earliest beliefs to better suit the people and the desires of those people. The truest faith its self comes from the heart not church. For centuries prophecies have been told and foreseen and as taught time still seems to carry on. People are losing faith as well as the priest and pastors alike for what they have taught based upon the things they were taught are in fact not holding true. Its not where the problem lye with in the text but with in the teachers. The bible doesn’t give a time table but an idea of what to expect. How to live according to the word of god and in losing faith it isn’t faith in god but the teachings that the faith is being lost. False religion is the false Prophet for its teachings are misleading and ensnared by Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath. And I am sure you get the picture.
Hold true to your faith in god and know that he knows what is truest in your heart.

Answer 8

If you look in the bible it clearly gives you the answer to your own question, you should aproach the pastor or elders or both and discuss the situation, but first you should pray wholeheartidly, remember one preson can make the difference in a church with the help of the Lord.

Answer 9

I would listen to your husband and keep going to that church until you both get a clear agreement. But.....perhaps you could ask him if he would visit another church one time. Maybe that would help him see his current church in another light.

If you do leave your church; please at least tell the pastor you are leaving, that you have no ill feelings toward him or the church, and can you have his blessing to leave.

Don't start talking with everyone in church about how bad the church has gotten.

Answer 10

I have never believed God to be the type if God who wants us to worship him halfheartedly. I have read scriptures where it says to rejoice in his name an even to dance an sing. If there is a cancer in the church cut it out or away from it. Let your minister know the truth. You owe it to the both of you and perhaps you will see change. It should be ok to venture out and explore other congregations. Any church that is secure with their teachings should have no problem with this. Good Luck and God bless.