Newbie's guide: how to find a good church
I spent the last blogpost regaling you with bad church stories and telling you how to avoid bad churches. After reading that post, you may be thinking “How can I ever find a good church?” It’s not nearly as hard as you think, but it is a process!
First of all, as you’ve learned from this guide, you can pray and ask God for anything. The most important thing you can do is pray! Pray that He will lead you to the church that is right for you, and He will lead you!
After praying, you can start searching. In the age of the Internet, Google, Yelp or Apple Maps are viable resources. You can simply search for churches that are near you, or if you’re looking for a certain kind of church, you can search for those kinds of churches. If you’d rather not use the Internet, your Christian friends may also be a good resource; most Christians I know would be delighted to have you come to church with them!
Sometimes the best church may not be the closest church to you physically — that’s okay. Most cities and towns I know of have hardly any traffic on Sunday mornings, so it should be relatively easy to drive or take public transport to church. A strong, vibrant church that is 40 minutes away will be much better for you than a dead, legalistic or lukewarm church that’s only 5 minutes away.
Once you find a couple of churches that you might want to go to, look at their website. In 2024, almost every church I know of has one, and most churches I know of will at least try to present themselves well on their website. Most church websites will have an “about us” tab near the top or side of their webpage, and under this tab there will be another tab called “mission and vision”, “statement of faith”, “statement of beliefs” or something similar. This is where you can find out what the church believes about the central tenets of Christianity, as well as what their specific mission and vision is. As I said above, these should be in line with the Bible. Bonus points if they cite the Bible verses themselves, but they may not. Different churches certainly have different beliefs on some specific issues, but all of them should be following the same central tenets of our faith.
In case you don’t quite remember all the central tenets that believers in Jesus should follow, here is a short creed (from 381 AD, no less!), that summarizes everything:
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
consubstantial to the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
(The Nicene Creed, ICET 1975 version)
The statement of values of any church should line up well with the beliefs in the creed above.
You can also find out on the church website what kinds of ministries or services the church offers. For example, if you have children, your church should have a good kids’ and/or youth program, and this should be advertised on the website. Some churches have food pantries, or counseling groups, or financial advice groups — if any of those are things you might need, take note of them. You can also find out what events the church is having, such as Sunday services, prayer meetings, life groups, outreach events, and fun hangouts. Many modern churches will also have videos of their Sunday services online, so you can watch the service from your home. Aside from being helpful for people who can’t make it in-person, these video services can also help you get a sense of how the church is before going for the first time.
(While we’re on the topic of online church…there’s nothing in the Bible that specifically forbids attending a church online. Sometimes, you may be in an area with no good churches, and online church is a very valuable resource to find Christian community in that situation. However, if you do have the privilege of living in an area with good, vibrant Christian churches around, I strongly suggest going to church in-person as much as you’re able. You’ll get the full benefits of a church community that way!)
Once you find a church you think you’ll like, it’s time to go in-person to a service! It’s a big step, I know, but hopefully after looking at the church’s website, checking that its values are Biblical, and getting a sense of the vibe of the church, you’ll be a bit more comfortable going to the church. Regardless of denomination, size or shape, churches are supposed to be welcoming, safe places, and you should feel safe coming alone (or with your family if you have one).
Once you go to a Sunday service (or two or three), there are a couple more questions you should be looking to answer before committing to your church:
Are the sermons in line with the Bible and relevant for you? Can you see yourself coming back and listening to more sermons from this pastor, and applying the sermons to your life?
Are the people welcoming and friendly? Do you feel like you’re entering a space where new people are welcome and can make friends, or does it feel like a social club where everyone “has their own friends” already? If it’s the latter, skip it.
Do you see yourself doing life with at least some of the people there? Keep in mind, a lot of churches are actually quite diverse with people of different ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, professions, and ages. Sunday service is no longer the “most segregated hour of the week”, as Martin Luther King Jr. described it years ago. You may meet plenty of people who are different from you in church, and that’s a good thing! But, if you are the only person who is your age, ethnicity or stage of life in that church, it can sometimes be a little hard to find community. (Emphasis on the “sometimes”—you’d be amazed at how Christ can bring many different kinds of people together.)
Are there small groups or service teams that you can easily see yourself getting involved in? Maybe you’re interested in outreach or medical missions, and the church offers a lot of those. Maybe the church might have a robust youth ministry, and you can see yourself working with teenagers. Or maybe there’s a small group where there are lots of Christians who are your age or work the same job as you. Whatever it is, it’s always a good sign if there’s a ministry or small group that you can get involved with immediately.
Is the Lord leading you to this church? Kind of obvious, I know. But if you pray to God, and he leads you to a specific church or away from a church that seems good, follow His lead!
If you can answer “yes” to all of the above questions, and you’re sure the church is alive, not lukewarm, and is following Biblical teaching, then you’ve probably found a good church community!
Congratulations and welcome to the Church!