Church Selection

Dear Victorious,

We're church shopping right now, and it seems that there are a variety of churches to pick from. I'm wondering what you would consider to be the right criteria for picking a church.

Dora C. - Longmont, CO

Dear Dora,

Why is it that you are church shopping? Did you find unresolved heresy in your existing church? Did God tell you to leave your existing church? Aside from moving to a new area or having your existing church go out of business, those are about the only good reasons I can think of for going church shopping. I'm not trying to be nasty here, but the truth is that people often move churches for poor reasons. So if you're church shopping, it is important to understand what godly purpose there be for you to be in the market for a new church. (Of course if there is no God-honoring reason then you should stay at your existing church.)

Often when Americans go looking for new church they base most of their decision on two questions: (1) What does this church have to offer me? (2) What are the differences in this church's beliefs? As you might imagine, I don't think either one of these questions establishes good criteria for picking a home church. The thing is that there are no perfect churches, so whatever you think this church has to offer - it will disappoint you somewhere along the line. And because there are no perfect churches - there will always be conflict or differences that you won't like.

When searching for a new church, the first thing to consider is God's will for you. "Lord, which church do You have in mind for us? Would You lead us to it, and help us to know that You have?" Secondly, I would look for what you can offer this church? Is this a church that has apparent needs which you are gifted to fill? In other words, what can you offer this church that might make it a more complete church community?

It is always important to check the basic doctrine of the church to be sure they're not preaching heresy or perverting Biblical truth. Basically any church that puts Jesus Christ first and believes that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God Himself is going to be a good fit regarding doctrine. And there are a lot of churches in several denominations that would qualify.

So my advice? Establish the basic doctrine issue. Then seek God's will. Finally, look for places where you can serve and contribute. I believe these are the three most important criteria in selecting a new church.