How should I go about finding a good church?

Question

My mom and I want to go to a good church to get more in touch with God and I wanna make some friends, too. We are Christian. My mom has the problem with the so called "christians", who relate all their problems to "I'm sorry, im trying to be a good christian". Weve had alot of trouble with this. Its hard to explain. So I need your help?

1) Is it allright to 'church hop'?
2) How do we go about finding a church for us?

Answer 1

Dear Lady
I think I know where You are coming from
Has Your Mum been singing
I aint gonna work on Maggie's Farm no more ?

1]You could but You may be in for a lot of hoping

2]Whatever Your address This could be an excellent choice

Yes I know in the words of Dylon "They kept it all well hid"
That's what they want You to believe
A Dylon Fan should have no problem with the rest

Please view my answer to
Paid Clergy Asked Yesterday

May this help

Answer 2

Sure, it's all right to visit and get the feel of a place before you join. Seldom will you find the right place on the first visit, but you never know . . .

Definitely pray about it first, asking the Holy Spirit to help you find the right place. He will be happy to do this!

If there is a local Christian radio station, the station manager may be able to give you some leads. I did this myself when we moved to a large city, several years ago. Although we didn't join the church he attended, he did give us some very good leads.

I don't know about other denominations, but the Southern Baptist convention has a website (www.sbc.net) with a church search feature. You can type in the city and state (e.g., Palmdale, CA or Elkins, WV), and find out if there is a Southern Baptist church anywhere near where you live. To the best of my knowledge, this only works for the USA, so if you live outside the US, gulp, I don't know what to say about that . . .

Another suggestion is to meet or meet with the pastor, if it's at all possible, before the Sunday morning service, so that you can get an idea of how many people attend, his or her attitudes, and so forth. I've just been called or "hired"--not exactly the best word!--to be a pastor, too, and if you lived anywhere near here, I would welcome the chance to tell you about our church. May you find a pastor who will take time to meet all your needs, too.

Finally, don't forget to check the Yahoo! (TM) city guides, where the churches are located in the (guess where?) Religion and Spirituality section.

Answer 3

It is definately okay to Church Hop!

When I was looking for a church I yahoo yellow pages search for churchs and started looking into all the churches that were within 20 minutes driving distance. I knew that I was interested in the United Church of Christ because I love that they are loving and accepting of all people but they are also a bible based group of people. So I started with those churchs first. I found a wonderful one and I've been a member for more than a year now.

Do you know what denomination you are interested in? You might want to do some internet research on the beliefs of different denominations (UCC, Methodist, Lutheran, etc) and see if there is something that really jumps out at you. Otherwise, just start visiting new churchs. I'd go at least 2 weeks in a row before making a decision, unless the first visit really turns you off! And when you find one that feels "right" you'll know!

Good luck with your search!

Answer 4

Church hopping can be good for a bit but eventually you need to get settled. You can not grow if you are not planted. You only get planted when you stay still. You need to look for a Church that-
Teaches The Word and goes by The Bible.
They walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
The pastor should be open for disscusion. If he can not show you from The Word then do not take his word for it, search the Scriptures yourself.
The congregation should be open and straight up. If you can not see Fruit of The Holy Spirit in their lives He is not there.
Do not always be so picky. We are just human and we are all stiving to be like Christ in one point in our life or another. so don't be so hard on some folks. How would you like it if they were that hard on you?
Pray. Pray. Pray, that God leads you to the church HE wants you to be in and to grow with. You have more to offer than you think and there is a church out there that needs exactly what you and your mom got.

Happy hunting and God Bless!

Answer 5

My advice to you is if you are not getting fed spiritually where you are, then yes it is important to move on to a place where you can be fed. I'm old fashioned in this but talk to some people and listen to what they say about the churches they attend. If you don't hear anything in the sermons about sin, conviction, hell and heaven because both exist, grace and love but yet the valleys of life where you don't have everything you want, then stay away from it. Those are some of the roots that make up a "good church". Some churches preach no condemnation of sin, everybody is going to heaven and that God wants to make you prosper continuously without having hard times. These feel good churches tell you just what you want to hear and because of that you never dig deeper into the scriptures and grow any. Ultimately it depends on if you can get anything out of the service, or is are you just going because you feel like you need to go to church somewhere. I would be happy to help if you have anymore questions and just send a message to my profile email address.

Rev. Kevin Kilby

Answer 6

Its ok to church hop when looking for a Bible believing, Bible teaching church.

Look for a church which people not only carry Bibles but have them open and are checking out what the preacher is saying during the sermon.

Look for a church which talks about being born again.

Look for a church which baptizes new believers by immersion after they have become believers. In other words, avoid churches which baptize babies.

Look for a church which believes in the Trinity.

Look for a church which is either independent or is part of a clearly evangelical denomination. A group which has the word "Evangelical" in their name does not make it so!

Look for a church which supports missionaries overseas. Ask them which foreign missionaries they support and when the last missionary spoke at the church and when the next one will.

One link below will list about 50 denominations which are members of the National Association of Evangelicals. Find a church which is a member of that or is in agreement with their teaching.

Avoid churches which are part of the National Council of Churches or the World Council of Churches.

The last links I'll give you below shows you the results of a phone survey of thousands of Americans and how well their beliefs line up with the Bible by denomintion.

Its interesting to see that a survey organization run by a Baptist tells you that his data shows that non Baptists have a higher percent of born again Christians and those with a Biblical World View than Baptists do.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

I served as a campus Pastor several years and got to learn the beliefs of most groups in the USA quite by accident.

As you read the Barna results, remember that the Assemblies of God is the largest of the Pentecostal denominations in the US. What they list as Pentecostal are the other Pentecostal denominations combined, such as Church of God, Foursquare, Calvary Chapels, and Vineyards. A/G and most other Pentecostal beliefs are indentical.

However about 5% of Pentecostals in the USA deny the Trinity. As I stated above avoid churches which deny the Trinity.

Pastor Art

PS: In case you are curious, I was raised Lutheran and currently am non denomintional. George Barna, founder of President of the Barna Group is a Baptist.

Answer 7

I would suggest that you do visit a few churches, before you make the decision to stay. And the most important things to look for in a church is that the pastor teaches sound doctrine- and that people love the Lord with all of their heart, and loves others, and reaches out to them. Pray also that God will lead you the church that He desires you to attend. There could be a few good churches in your area- Also look to see if prayer and worship are important in everything they do, because without that, even a church that teaches sound doctrine will not be a successful church in God's eyes. Make sure there is a balance.

Answer 8

You can church hop. Finding a 'good' church can be major problem and if you do find one it can change into a 'bad' one. Much depends on the church leadership. Many leaders are not Christians. Some are evangelistic but once you are a Christian they leave you to it. A few are interested in making disciples of Christians - and that's the one I would chose.

Answer 9

My only advice is to make sure that whatever church you "join" teaches correct doctrine. That is more important than finding a church where you can make friends. In other words, figure out what it is you believe and then search for that truth. If that means going to several different churches to find it then that is perfectly fine.

Answer 10

First, pray. Ask the Lord to direct you. Then try visiting some. I have found the Baptists to be pretty friendly and generally right on doctrine, but you will have to give it some time before you make a decision.