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What do you look for in a new Church? - 12/4/2008 2:56:17 PM
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needsmet
Posts: 12
Joined: 7/17/2008
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This is more of a survey type question.
I am very interested in what sorts of criteria folks, that are searching for a church to attend, use?
Examples could be Teaching stle of the pastor, Worship style, size of church etc...
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RE: What do you look for in a new Church? - 12/4/2008 7:00:47 PM
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rcjames
Posts: 5771
Joined: 7/15/2005
From: Oklahoma
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First and foremost is solid doctrine, especially in the area of Sanctification.
In Worship; the freedom for folks to worship God in Spirit and Truth as they understand it and with no time limits.
I personally like smaller Churches (under 3 or 4 hundred) better than the larger ones. (sorry Kernsfamily).
Preaching style; I am very open on that; they can be professorial, or a lot of verbal and bodily expressions, as long as they are sincere and teach the truth of the Word.
Thanks
RC
_____________________________
Just a country Preacher's humble opinion
Read the first chapter of my latest book here;
http://www.deliveranceofsara.com
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RE: What do you look for in a new Church? - 12/4/2008 10:02:38 PM
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anicecupofcoffee
Posts: 104
Joined: 11/27/2008
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I am currently looking for a church closer to me. Fortunately, many of the churches I've chosen to visit for this purpose have online sermons. This has been a big help in getting some insite into the doctrine & teaching of the pastor.
1) I've been looking for solid biblically based teaching, given by a pastor(s) who is as enthusiastic giving it as I am receiving it.
2) Bible study groups or classes so I can dig deeper.
3) Prayer meetings.
4) Programs for singles/families/men/women/children so the "church" can grow.
There are other less important things but these are important to me. I don't want to go to church to be entertained. I want to go to church to draw closer to our God, learn His word, and fellowship with other christians.
_____________________________
James 1:18
God chose to give us new birth through the message of truth. He wanted us to be the first and best of everything he created.
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RE: What do you look for in a new Church? - 12/5/2008 12:08:42 AM
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Prairiehiker
Posts: 3262
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A church that has a very strong conviction to preach the real gospel and not the waterdown version.
A church that takes care of the spiritual needs of the members and build it's members up.
A church that is involved in the community and aware of the social issues it's facing.
A church that ensures that believers and members feel that they are welcome in the church body and that they matter, and that they have something to contribute to the edification of the community.
A church that welcomes non believers without judgement.
A church that is not too focused on entertainment, and programs to keep members happy, but focused on ensuring that the members faith gets deepened.
_____________________________
Wishing for a Steelers/Eagles superbowl.
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RE: What do you look for in a new Church? - 12/5/2008 10:10:42 AM
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kernsfamily
Posts: 1434
Joined: 4/26/2006
From: Dallas (originally Detroit)
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Iam just going to "steal" bits and pieces of other people's comments....as they ALL describe the church we attend now.....(we embarked on an extensive search for a new church home 6 years ago......and, over the summer of 2002, we must've visited over a dozen local congregations.....)
A church that has a very strong conviction to preach the real gospel and not the watered down version.
A church that takes care of the spiritual needs of the members and build it's members up. (and "material" needs, when necessary)
A church that is involved in the community and aware of the social issues it's facing.
A church that is growing....and is relentless in it's "outreach" and ministry out into the community to reach the "lost" for Christ....
All the while, it will have programs for singles/families/men/women/children so the "church" can grow spiritually
Bible study groups or classes so I can dig deeper.
Preaching style: I much rather prefer a "conversational" tone over someone yelling at me.....I like "expositional" preaching over "topical" preaching....
A church that I feel as if I "BELONG"....and, we feel as if we are a "part" of the church (that was the primary reason for leaving our previous church....we'd been there for 4 years, and still felt like "visitors" and "intruders")
A church that does NOT dwell on doing things a certain way just because, "We've always done it that way"...or does things just because "We've always done it"....
Size: Doesn't much matter.....I've been in some pretty bad small churches (and some good ones, too), though now we currently attend one of the biggest in the country, and it's been a huge blessing....even though it is an extremely large church, it doesn't FEEL "large".......we learned fairly quickly that many "misconceptions" we had about being a part of a church that size just weren't "true"....(though, we know it's not for everyone)
quote:
I personally like smaller Churches (under 3 or 4 hundred) better than the larger ones. (sorry Kernsfamily).
No big deal. We were pretty adamant about finding a church that was fairly "small" when we were looking for a new church home. But, God had other plans.....
_____________________________
Proud dad of 3 great girls....Erin, Emilie and Elise
Blessed to have all of them in a "totally awesome" public elementary school!
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