How to Find a Good Church in Your City or State

Looking for and finding a new church home is not really all that much fun. It can take a bit of time to settle in with new people, feel comfortable with them, and get close to them in a meaningful way over time. Many times, people don't understand that leaders are the ones who set the tone for a church. The things that happen can often be directly traced back to leadership. By the end of this article, readers will be able to know how to find a church, how to spot negative issues, and how to start living a Christian life the way God intended.

When considering joining a new church, the main issues that people have are these: people do not want to have the same problems at the new church that they had at their previous church; people do not want to have church leadership that is weak or dishonest. People want pastors and their leadership team to act like the leaders they claim they are; people are tired of seeing sin permitted for some and not for others; people desperately want to be taught the Word of God. If you go to church, the last thing you want to hear is the pastor's agenda. You want to hear the Word of God and learn to live well as a Christian!! There are many other reasons why people leave one church and then try other churches, but because of past hurt, it is usually difficult to settle down and make a decision quickly.

If a pastor has a sincere heart for God and for people, one of the first immediate changes he will need to make is to stop referring to the people as "his people." This is a critical error and sets leaders up for a quick fall or a long-term fall. No matter what happens, the pastor will eventually fall in some way because people do not belong to the pastor and such thinking is not laced with humility. The people belong to God. The end. With this new and correct mindset, the pastor should recognize immediately that all people want is a safe place to attend church, where they can learn the Bible, fellowship with other believers and get away from the strife they face in every day life. Yes, it is true that people are the ones in a church, and people are inherently messy emotionally and otherwise, but there can be structures in place to ensure that the casualties are few and far between. How, you may ask. One of the best ways to ensure that people do not get hurt very easily is to make sure that your church leaders are mature. Either they have been single for a long time and are not living a privately sinful life, or they are married for a while and are in a marriage that has stood the test of time and children or infertility and circumstance. You want to be surrounded by people with a solid track record of living in integrity, not those who mismanage money, participate in illicit sexual activity, gossip, and have huge egos, etc. If these kinds of people are your leaders, it will come out in time, and you will find yourself struggling with the same issues year after year, and you will see people cycling in and out of your church. After ten years you will have lots of new faces but not much change otherwise. If you have only added 100 new members in 10 years to your roster, there is a problem.

The good news for both pastors and parishioners is that things can change. They can get better. People demand more out of their churches than they ever have, and this is a good thing. All that is left now is for the pastor to step up, face the truth, make changes - permanent changes - and watch the church grow. After all, Jesus did say that if He were lifted up, He would draw all men unto Him. If people are not joining the church, it is only because Christ is not being exalted. That is very simple! Face it! Adapt! Or continue dying. There are lots of folk who are seeking to find a new church, and it would be great if your newly Godly church was the one they found.

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