Once you accept Christ, where you worship will have a tremendous effect on your spiritual growth. Unfortunately, just going to any church is not good. If you are attending a wrong church where the word is not the primary goal, it may actually hinder your growth. Today, I want to share what you should be looking for in place of worship, and If your current Church does not meet these criteria, I strongly suggest you find the right Church.
Is Jesus the head of the Church?
No man, pastor, priest, or pope is head of the Church.
Is the Church based on the scripture?
Word Of God must be taught & preached, and there should be no excuse for sinful behavior.
Is the word of God being taught without filtering the message?
The Church you attend should teach from Genesis to Revelation. It should not pick and choose or avoid uncomfortable subjects.
Are you growing spiritually?
If Church is teaching the word, you should be growing and being fruitful in ministry. If you are relying on outside sources such as TV ministry, daily Devotions, or books for spiritual fulfillment, then you might be attending the wrong Church. Although there is nothing wrong with daily devotions, books, or learning outside of the Church, they should be supplement sources, not the primary source of spiritual enrichment. Your Church should provide you with spiritual fulfillment.
Is the Church focused on Christ & redemption of souls through resurrection?
If the Church is not teaching about being born again and the importance of repentance and acceptance of Christ as savior, you might be in the wrong Church. Are they teaching you to rely on religious rituals such as baptism or communion, lent, etc. for salvation, then you might be in the wrong Church.
Are you being fulfilled spiritually after attending?
Can you look back a month, a year, two years, and see if there is substantial growth in your spiritual life? Please don’t confuse activity with spiritual growth.
Does the Church pray together?
The Church is as strong as it’s prayer group. How many people attend prayer meetings? Is there regular prayer time besides on Sunday?
Is the leadership of Church born again and scripturally sound?
If leadership is not grounded in the word of God, then there is a lot of bickering and politics in Church. If you see this in your Church, you might be at the wrong Church.
Are most people attending “Born Again” Christians?
If it is Christ-based Church you will see the love for fellow members. There are less finger-pointing and more sharing.
Is Church-run like a business rather than God’s house?
The Church should follow the bible and no other book of the law. Are all the issues in Church dealt biblically, and are the solutions biblical?
Is church focus on growing membership of Church, or is it interested in sharing Gospel with non-believers and bringing them to salvation? Every church should be involved in increasing the kingdom of Christ and sharing Jesus with unbelievers, not making sure church membership is growing. If the love of Christ is shared with enough people, and they see the love, attendance of the Church will take care of itself.
Is the Church focused on finances, or do they rely on Jesus to provide their needs? Is there is a lot of focus by pastor and leadership on how to raise money, dues, or administration of finance? If more time is spent on planning fundraisers rather than planning how to save souls or reach the unbelievers or to feed the hungry and help the needy, you might be in the wrong Church.
Does the Church have children & youth ministry? Are they teaching children & youth to walk in the way of the Lord? If you have children, you want to emphasize this. Kids must be taught from a young age the truth of scripture. Many churches have Sunday school, but there is no teaching of the word.
If your only reason for attending the Church is, that’s where you were going (loyalty), or that’s where your parents went, you should rethink that. Our loyalty is only to Christ, and we go where He takes us where He is glorified.
Lastly, there is no perfect church, but there are churches out there that teach the word of God. These questions are raised to make you aware and examine your Church as well as your role in the Church you attend. Maybe you are a pastor who has stopped teaching the truth of the bible because of fear of backlash or in the interest of being politically correct. Perhaps you are a leader, and you have been sucked into politics of the Church and have lost focus. If you do belong to Church that does not meet a lot of the criteria on here, it might be time to look for more Jesus centered Church. Church where Jesus is the head of the Church, not pastor, deacon, or Board.
only savior jesus 