Everyone who is looking to join a church has a personal list of what they (and maybe their family) are looking for.
Often people look for the normal things (in no particular order)..Children’s Ministry? Adult Bible Study? Small Groups? Good Sermon? Good Music? Service Opportunities?
Some people will make spontaneous on-site visits while others will research all they can before visiting. For this post, I want to list a few additional things to think about when looking for a church community.
- Denomination: Catholic or Orthodox parishes are pretty straight forward when it comes their church name, but some Protestant churches have chosen to take on a more generic name to create a wider appeal to the community. For example, First Baptist Church of XYZ may have changed their name to XYZ Community Church. The name may have changed but the church will keep their affiliation. Churches are not looking to bait and switch as much as they want people to feel welcome when they enter. It’s important to look into a church’s affiliation (if there is one) and determine if the denomination’s beliefs match yours.
- Service Limitations: In relation to a church’s denomination / affiliation is the church’s position on key issues. These key issues can determine how a person can serve as a member. For example, a strict conservative church may not allow a woman to teach, while a more relaxed conservative church would. If a divorced individual joins a church with the aspiration of being a deacon or an elder one day, they may want to check and see how the church stands on the issue before joining. These issues are often not listed on the church’s website so an individual would need to speak to a pastor or elder/deacon about the issue.
- Pastoral Availability: A Senior Pastor’s job is difficult and can be overwhelming consider the amount of work that needs to be done during the week. Often in very large churches, the pastoral staff (co-pastors, executive pastors, ministry pastors) help alleviate the pressure by performing pastoral duties including hospital visits and counseling. Though support is necessary, it could also create distance between members of the church and its leader. If close access to the Senior Pastor in times of need is important to you, find out how the pastoral staff functions and who would respond to your need if requested.
- Bible Carriers or Screen Readers: It may sound trivial but for many it matters if a church encourages their members to bring their Bibles to service. This depends on the culture of the church and is often noticed when visiting for the first time.
- Topical or Verse-by-Verse Preaching: Majority of sermons given by pastors today are topical. Pastors who preach topically will preach a single sermon or a series based upon a theme or one particular aspect of the Christian life (i.e. forgiveness, faith, prayer) and reference certain passages that act as the foundation for the message. Verse-by-Verse (or expository preaching) differs from topical as it moves through a book/chapter of the Bible with the pastor explaining what the verses are saying to us. A good preacher should be able to develop a good sermon from either method. If the church you are planning to visit has a live stream or recorded sermons available to the public (Youtube is popular) you will be able to see in what form the church’s pastor preaches.
Most important action that can be taken when searching for a church is to pray on it. Be confident that God will guide you to the community he wants you to be a part of.
