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How do you find the right Church?

Avoid counterfeit churches

One important thing to do is to look out for counterfeit Churches. Wherever there is something valuable you will find a counterfeit. Churches are no exception.
The Bible teaches that Jesus is our only link to God. It is important to find a church that will teach you about the right Jesus.  Jesus is the 'Almighty God' and he is a real man at the same time. It is hard to get our heads around that but it is what the Bible teaches. See John 1:1, John 20:28,29, Phil 2:5-11 and Col 2:8-9. Jesus claimed to be God and he rose from the dead to prove it. It is only because Jesus is God that he could pay for the sins of the entire world.
Counterfeit churches will likely teach one or more of the following things  ...
  • That Jesus was just a good man.
  • That he was not a real man
  • That Jesus is not the only way to find God
  • That he is some kind of divine creature but not the Almighty God.
  • That you are saved by grace plus works. In other words they will say that Jesus death on the cross did only part of the job and you must do something to earn God’s forgiveness (e.g. go door to door and sell magazines.)
  • They will say that you can never really be sure that God has forgiven you.
  • They will teach that their church or organization is the only real church and that every other church belongs to the devil.
  • That you can improve yourself by your own efforts and goodness.
  • That you cannot go to heaven if you do not speak in tongues.
(Note: I believe that the gift of speaking in tongues is available to Christians today but it is not something that you must do to become a Christian).
Watch out for any organisation that teaches that only their study guides or books (and no one else’s) can help you understand the Bible.

Ask God to lead you to a good church

Ask God to lead you to a church, pray that he will help you to identify any church that isn’t teaching the right things about Jesus. Ask him to lead you to a church that will help you to grow as a Christian.

Ask a Christian to take you to church

Do you know someone who is a born again Christian?
You might know someone whose life has been changed. Do you know someone who is always smiling, someone who likes to talk about Jesus? (Not just about their religion) If you know someone who is a ‘born again’ Christian then why not ask that person to take you along to church?

What you should look for in a church

Look for a church that teaches that the Bible is the Word of God and teaches that it is only Jesus death on the Cross that can pay for our sins.
Find a church that wants to have an impact on the world; a church that wants to see the lives of people changed by connecting them with Jesus.
A good church will look after you, they will have an Alpha course or something similar to you teach what it means to be a Christian. If the church has a large congregation then join one of the small groups (i.e. Bible study/Cell groups etc) in that church so that you can meet and get to know other Christians.God loves you and he cares about all of your needs, so when you are choosing a church look for one where they pray for sick people and believe that God answers prayer.

Churches are not perfect

Look for a good church not a perfect one. No one is perfect and since churches are made up of people, they will not be perfect either. Don’t let people put you off of going to church. If a person runs a red light you blame the person not the police force. Don’t blame Jesus if people act in a way he has told them not to. The important thing is to find a church that God is using to change people’s lives.

Don’t let anything stop you

It can be hard at first to start going to church. Finding the time, finding a good church and making new friends can make it all seem too hard. I myself am very shy and find it very hard to mix with people but I can tell you without any hesitation that involvement in a church is well worth it. Many miracles happen inside a church. God blesses Christians who are united. God shows his love through fellow Christians. To really know God’s love you need to receive it via fellowship and learn to show it as well. There is safety in numbers. When you have people who care about you, who are praying for you and encouraging you it is so much easier to keep on going. If you know a born again Christian, get on the phone and ask them to take you to church. Commit yourself to going. Decide to go no matter what. Often you will find that things will happen that will try and stop you. You might feel tired or sick. Your car might break down. Promise yourself right now that you wont let anything stop you. I can’t recommend it highly enough. God uses other Christian to show his love to us. If you want to really know God’s love then you need to go to a church that is on fire for God.

See Why go to Church? If you are not sure why you should go.
See Where can I find a good Church? for links to a list of good churches.