Looking For A Church

I live in Charlotte, NC, home to over 700 churches. We have churches of all sizes and forms. In fact, if you do the math you'll find that a person could shop for churches for 13 1/2 years without ever visiting the same church twice! Wow!

So how is a person who is looking for a church to find one? Unfortunately, there is no verse of scripture with instructions...or is there? Well, not exactly! But scripture does describe the birth of the Church in the book of Acts with much detail. I believe that Acts is a great starting point.

It would be good for anyone who is looking for a church home to reread the book of Acts before they continue their search. Keep in mind that no church is going to look exactly like the early Church in form (i.e. government, style, culture, etc.). What's most important is that a church's values and practices align with scripture. It seems as if I could write a book on this subject. For the sake of space, here are some of the key ingredients of the early church:

1. They were outwardly focused and sought to transform their world. 
2. They were empowered by the Holy Spirit.
3. They devoted themselves to scripture.
4. They devoted themselves to prayer and worship.
5. They spent time with each other and practiced true Christian love.
6. They were culturally relevant.
7. They were generous givers. 

Remember, what's important is that a church is currently practicing these things. It's not enough for these things to be written on a church's website or statement of beliefs. With these 7 foundational principles as the backdrop, here are some additional qualities (this is in no way exhaustive) that are essential to the health of a church and are worth looking for:

-A clear, consistent and godly vision. 
-Strong, trustworthy, unified and humble leadership.
-An emphasis on grace. Legalism is a killer of spiritual life!
-A Kingdom mindset (i.e. not an island unto itself!).
-Opportunities to serve. 
-Accountability: financially and otherwise.
-People take priority over programs. 
-Transformation is more important than tradition.
-Multicultural.
-Forward-looking.
-Able to minister well to all generations.


Now, before you give up on your current church or on finding a new one, remember that no church is perfect. It's vitally important that all of us walk in love and forgiveness! Oh, and one more important word of advice: When looking for a church, make it a serious matter of prayer. Obviously, there's no way a person could completely know everything about a church; however, the Holy Spirit has a way of helping us sense things that are beyond our reach. When it's all said and done, it's also good to know that God has called you to your new place of worship.

My prayer is that those of you who are searching for a new church home will find a place where you and your family can grow in the Lord and you can accomplish His will alongside the Body of Christ.