Is it so troublesome and difficult to find a church?
The question was to take Olivia and my twins on the tour, searched for a church for our family, and sprinted around my head. We didn’t want to admit it, but after visiting the 4th church, we were tired. As a twin’s new parent, the streaming service seemed to be more attractive with the new church we visited. But I knew that God called me to guide my family according to his way, and for him to be involved in the church community.
We have just moved to a new city, and we began to plugin and find the church community. Olivia and I personally knew that the church engagement was most of Jesus’ spiritual growth, and we could not exclude it.
Nevertheless, what you need to consider when you guide your family to find a church is that you may be mentally, mental, and emotionally tired. But believe me. It is still worth it.
Why is it important to find a church?
Olivia and I witnessed the beautiful power of being surrounded by the community of people who love Jesus when they married as a young couple. In the early days of our marriage and parent -child relationships, I was tired of the need for resources, especially when I was living in a respectable LY marriage. The family of our church has been poured to all needs. Even some of our early memories of learning about Jesus are embedded in our church experience. But being a member of the local church is not a box or a convenient problem just to check.
It is a problem of our design.
God designed humans to gather in the community. Local churches provide a very important part of the blue photo of his Bible for our lives, providing a loving opportunity for God to meet together (to the Hebrews). Letter 10: 24-25).
For Olivia and for me, local churches are an extension of God’s family on Earth. As we are hired by his family through religion to Christ, we are adopted in the believer’s community when participating in local churches. This community allows you to experience the love, grace, and accountability that God intends to his people.
Should a church should be done?
While I was guiding my family to find a church, I thought of myself, isn’t all churches one of Christ? So, can we do any church? Go to this church opposite the street and call it a day.
After asking this question from some mentors, they gathered me, not only churches but also many churches, but there were many churches. The Bible tells us that we are identified and wise in our choices, especially on religion and mental growth issues.
The apostle Paul warns when people gather around the teacher who tells what they want to hear, not the doctrine of sound (2 Timothy 4: 3-4). This reminds me that all churches do not support the true teachings of the Bible.
I also began to realize that the church was not just a place to attend. Rather, it is the place to which the family belongs.
So, when I looked for my wife and church, I made it very important for us to have intentional and caring for our family’s needs. That way, we all connect with fellow believers, grow spiritually, and use gifts to help build a Christ’s body.
During the search, I made some notes on the way. There are some hints to consider if you are wondering …
Where do you start from?
1. Prayer, seek God leadership.
Olivia and I hadn’t needed to find a new church together before. We didn’t know what we were doing. I think it has made it even easier to entrust our path to God. You may notice that you are led by a mobile phone map to find a path to the church, but ask God about God’s GPS. To determine this direction, you need something higher than Google Maps (Matthew 6: 33, Pro Word 3: 5-6).
2. Identify the type of church you are looking for.
What is your intersection? What do you need for your family members? Create a list of most important things for you in praising God. As a young couple with young children, there are some items from our list:
Powerful Bible teaching: A solid, compromised, relevant sermon, equipped with us and our children to understand the Bible and their daily lives. Nursery schools and childcare: We have safe, staffing nursery schools and childcare during services and events, and participate completely without worrying about our small things. Community and friendship: A chance to connect with other parents, form friendship, and share experience through the joy and struggle of parents.
I know what is important for my family life in the current season, but also think about long -term outlook. I think the church is wonderful, but if you are missing in an important area (youth group, men’s miniature, etc.) for you, pray together before going ahead and ask your spiritual leader for opinions. I recommend.
3. Check out the church website.
We have found the statement of what we believe in each church we visited. We not only looked for what the statement said, but also looked for what we did not say.
We said, “What are you talking about the authority and sufficientness of the Bible? What are you saying about salvation just by blessing just by Christ alone? What are you talking about marriage, gender, and sexuality? ?
I also looked at the leadership page to see if the leadership model was shared by multiple elders.
I liked churches, but if we had something about their structure and beliefs, we insisted on asking one of the leaders before they completely refused the opportunity to participate.
4. Listen to one or two sermons by the chief pastor.
Olivia and I, especially, saw how long it took for the pastor to say this phrase: “Open your Bible.” We did this and checked what kind of priority was in the church we were considering.
We asked himself. “Do the preachers often open words? Do they preach through text, or have some poems using him to support his points?”
In many cases, we saw a live stream recorded from the chief pastor before deciding to visit directly. The language sermon is not the only part of the church, but it is the main part.
5. Visit the church
The mentor also suggested to send an email to the pastor, introduce himself, and invite him to lunch. This helped me measure how well my family’s value and expectations matched the church vision and belief, and helped to determine whether the church is perfect for my family.
If it is a big church, you should start with a deputy minister. Ask them about the value and direction of the church. Open to ask how you can serve to meet your church needs.
6. Listen to your wife as a helper given by God.
The interesting thing is that the church we are currently attending is the church that attracted Olivia while we were shopping for groceries. If I didn’t listen to her interests, we wouldn’t have found a church we call home today. But there are several other ways to hear her story:
Start the conversation after each church visits. As a result, I was able to openly share my thoughts and emotions about the church. I remember that it was an unknown area for us, so we tried to create a positive creation of the confidence and encouragement for open dialogue. I take her concerns seriously. Olivia is a twin’s new mother, and she was more sensitive than I was in the safety and care of our baby. I seriously conveyed my prayer to take her concerns seriously, but I was able to guide me in consideration of her scaffolding.
Decide together
We recognize the value of a partnership we share as a husband and wife as a wife, so that the partnership can be expanded to every aspect of your life, including mental problems, every day in the church we chose together. You can experience beauty. Only God can design such a unity, but it is not only me who testifies it.
This is what my friend Carlos shared with me:
“When my wife and I first got married, we came from a very different tradition of religion. I was a Protestant and she grew up in Catholic. I have to be a spiritual leader. I knew that, but how can I do it if I can’t even agree to go to the church on Sunday morning?
It was attractive, but I couldn’t find a good church for me and couldn’t leave her left. I also needed to find a way to help her grow. Through a lot of difficult conversations, I learned that the gymnasium church, which has a rock concert style worship experience, does not cut it. Before trusting the message, she needed a church with a respectful vertical atmosphere that was created by the congregation of the congregation, not a huge speaker, spotlight, or smoked machine stack.
It took a few months, but eventually, I found a beautiful old church with stained glass windows, choir, and huge pipe organ. I felt she felt she needed it. In the next decades, the pastor has helped us really given Christ in our lives and ultimately set us on the way to become missionaries. “
Find the church, not perfect
It is important to keep in mind that churches are not perfect. why? The church is composed of incomplete people. All congregations have the strengths and areas that require improvement. Like the incomplete marriage and family, the lack of perfection of the church does not define its value, but emphasizes the continuous process that is made like Jesus as a believer. I am.
Finding a church is to find a spiritual family that you can grow, worship, and serve with your fellow believers. It is to expand each other as an incomplete individual, while taking your passion for your passion for the words of God and God.
So, when you are looking for a church, you accept that your journey is incomplete and difficult, but when you grow positively and guide your family to look for a community you are serving, you are a caring religion. Give priority to the basic aspects. Nothing is perfect, but don’t forget that God works powerfully through incomplete containers, bring your own purpose, and change your life.
Copyright © 2024 FamilyLife. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Ashford Sonii is a next -generation pastor of the Cape Carterlet Baptest Church and a family life contribution writer. He learns, learns and conveys the practical life application of God’s words in how to walk with marriage, family, and Jesus. Ashford and his wife, Olivia, now lives in North Carolina with twin girls, Ivy and Oakley.
