How Do I Find a Church?
Have you been keen to try out church, but you don’t know where to start? Are you considering starting out on your journey to know Jesus, but the idea of sifting through the masses to find “the right church” is daunting?
It’s true that church is super helpful when you’re wanting to grow your relationship with God. That’s the place where you go to learn who God is, and gain support and encouragement along the way. If you’re entirely new to the concept of a “relationship with God”, that is where you can go to ask questions about what that means and looks like.
You may have noticed that there are heaps of churches out there, and everything from the people, the music, the style, the building and even the way they do “church” can be vastly different. So, how do you choose a church?
The most important thing to keep in mind is why you’re going to church.
To sum it up, three important reasons are
Growing in relationship with God
Connecting with a Christian community
Contributing to help others
Its good to ask yourself “can I get connected to God and to others here, and can I encourage and support others?”. Only you can answer this question.
We are all unique, with different experiences and preferences. You might prefer a more traditional church, where the service is structured, people sing hymns, and you get the opportunity to experience God in a quieter, formal environment. Or, maybe you’d connect better with a more casual service, where they sing modern music and the atmosphere is lively and energetic.
You may have come across the word “denomination”, don’t worry, it’s not as confusing as it sounds. It’s really just a fancy word for traditions and the style of the church. Common denominations include Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Lutherans and Presbyterians and a bunch of others. One denomination isn’t “better” than the other, as long as they stick with the main message of Jesus as the way to God, and the Bible as God’s true Word.
How do you know where to find a church that works for you? Here are a few useful tips you can follow.
If you have a friend who goes to church, you can try asking them about what their church is like. Chatting to someone who goes to a church isn’t just a good way to find a church, but they can also be helpful in meeting other people there and getting introduced.
If you don’t have a friend who goes to church, or their church isn’t right for you, don’t worry. Most churches can be found through Google or social media, and they usually have a website that talks about what style of church they are, and what they believe. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know anyone there. If you let someone know that you’re new, they’ll usually be super welcoming and help you meet other people there.
Some churches have “welcome teams” to make sure that new people get the warm welcome that they need to get settled in. If you’re still not sure, you can usually call, or even message someone there to ask them more questions.
Sometimes it does take a number of visits before you know if the church is the right fit for you, and that’s ok. It’s also ok to try a few different types of churches if you don’t know what works for you. Again, the big message of Jesus is what’s important, not the style, so you don’t have to worry if one church looks different to the other.
Why don’t you ask God to guide you to find the right church, and then keep asking Him for direction along the way. He wants to help you.
God is a friend that never leaves you