What should you look for in a Christian Church before joining?
Boy, this will be a slippery slope where I may tick more people off than I please, but such is life.
I will start by saying what not to expect out of a church or church member.
Don’t expect perfect people. You may see a member in the liquor store or with a bottle of wine in their grocery cart. Heck, they may even have a 12 pack of beer. Don’t faint or clutch your pearls. Life is tough enough as is, so I doubt if God would deny a person some spirits to ease the grind. Noah was a distiller and got in a bad spot after testing his product. Jesus turned water to wine. The Bible does not does say not to drink. It says not to be a drunk.
When you accept Christ and join a body of Christians, God doesn’t wave a wand and make you sinless or sin free. Only one man was perfect, and He got executed for it.
Don’t expect to be greeted with open arms. Sure some will come talk to you, but more will not for a variety of reasons. They may know when they came they didn’t want to be showered by a bunch of people. Many people just want to slip in late and slide out early. Just interact with those who greet you and make connections. If you are ignored totally, you just got your answer.
What you do want to ask and look for are some of these things.
After a while visiting, does the pastor or an associate pastor know your name? Do your kids’ teachers know you as the kids parents and know your children’s names? Do the kids talk about what they learned during “children’s church”?
Does the preacher teach from scripture, or does he just give a feel good speech? Is the service more like a modern concert, or more like you would expect from a church service.
Do they make their finances known to members in a regular fashion? Including income and expenses. If not, run, don’t walk away from this church.
Do they have Sunday school? If so, attend. Sunday school is the equivalent of attending four quarters of a football game, and worship service is the after-game event. If all you do is attend the 11 a.m. hour and leave, you will never get to know the members.
Lastly, if you visit a church and don’t find what you expect, ask yourself some questions.
Did you have realistic expectations?
How did you form your expectations?
Did you reach out to members as much as they reached out to you?
Did you at least arrive on time and linger after to give them an opportunity to greet you?
Churches are filled with people, some Christian, some seeking. They are not perfect, although some may believe they are. They are as broken, as confused, as conflicted as you are. They may be poor, they may be rich. They may be empathetic or they may be cold as ice. But they are all there to feel relief, restoration, recharging, repentance, and forgiveness. If only for a moment. Those who are called to Christ find saving grace.
Regardless of where you find yourself, in church is better than outside the church. Trying to find an answer to life’s dilemma is better than suffering through it. Recognizing there is a power above all else, an almighty God, and submitting to Him is a sweet release from the worries of the day.
Too many people have searched for answers outside the Church and that has created more problems than it has solved. Satan and the world have answers, they are simply the wrong answers.
