How to Find a Good Church

So you're shopping for a new church. If you grew up going to church, picking one was super easy; you just went wherever your parents went. Now you are the head of the search committee for a new church. Church shopping is tiresome and complicated; frankly, it is nothing like choosing your supermarket or dry cleaners. In fact, this is why we devoted chapter two to “When you need to leave a church”.

However, starting this search may be for a variety of reasons. Maybe you’re in a new city or a new town, and you need to find a church. Perhaps, you are a new believer in Jesus Christ and desire to find a good church home. Maybe, your current church differs from your understanding of Biblical principles, or leadership is heading in a new direction that makes it impossible for you to stay. Solomon made it clear that there are seasons in life. The pursuit of Jesus inside a local church is not always linear. So whatever season you find yourself in today, the question remains, what is your plan to find a good church?

Having a plan to find a good church is so crucial because the church is crucial to God’s redemptive plan through history. The local church is the hope of the world. The local church fulfills specific roles in God’s plan of saving and sanctifying people. If you desire to be part of building the church of Christ (Matthew 16:18), you need to participate in a solid local church.

Your pursuit of a local church is so much bigger than just you. Finding a church family is finding your place to join God in His mission to rescue people off this planet. You will discover that when you find the right church, it becomes clear that the church needs you as much as you need it. The right church home will offer you the opportunity to partner with God not by sitting and soaking but through standing and serving. You are in a significant search that will have a direct eternal impact on your life and countless others.

Before you look at the process, you should know this book is to help focus your attention on “what” you are looking for in a new church. As we begin, here is a straightforward process to help frame your search for a new church home thereby, providing the “how” to go about the search.