If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 2 Cor 5:17
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Go to the source! Discover what the Bible says about …
These pages are designed to aid study or investigation for Christian discipleship through individual Bible study, Cell groups, Home groups, or meeting one to one. The questions could be used alone allowing each person to use their own Bible.
Introduction
There are many churches because there are many ways people prefer to meet with God. There is a wonderful variety of churches. We have different ways of expressing ourselves, different approaches to God, different tastes of music, different ages .
Help Zone
- Finding a Church - An opportunity to explore and meet people.
- Why the differences? - Different churches for each different approach to God.
- Is it a cult? - Cults take away from or add to the gospel.
- Where is the fruit? - What is lifted up? What is the fruit of the ministry?.
- Find one & settle - Church is s community with people not a consumer choice.
There may be a variety of churches in an area that are unfamiliar to you, this is an opportunity to meet new people. If you go to a church and explain that you are looking for one, you should meet with a helpful and encouraging response.
The easiest way of exploring churches is to visit on a Sunday. Find out where and at what time they meet. In some countries they meet early for a teaching time. It is preferable to not go to the same church twice in a row while uncertain. That would give people the impression that you had settled with them.
To get a broad view of what churches there are try asking at a Christian book shop or organisation with a broad perspective and ask them if they could give you an overview of the churches your area. In the UK, the Evangelical Alliance UK has a site that gives you details of member churches in your locality.
There are a wide range of styles across the churches. These vary from where everyone is so engrossed in their personal spiritual reflection that no one talks to you before or after the meeting, through to others where people will make a point of spending some time to chat, offering you a drink at the end and the like.
Here are some factors that those who run churches think about in their approach to worshipping God. It is helpful to have these in mind when visiting a church to understand where they are coming from.
It is helpful to bear in mind that when you visit a church of a particular style, the people there will usually only be able to help you think about churches of their style. If you want to broaden your perspective and think of other styles of church then it is best to ask in a more neutral forum such as a local Christian book shop.
Terms to know
How do we understand truth?
- Evangelical - The Bible is considered the Word of God and authoritative.
- A clear concept of salvation by faith.
- There is often a focus on the Bible’s answers for any issue.
- Liberal - The key authority is our mind, and understanding of philosophy.
- A strong journey sense to the gospel and becoming a Christian.
- There is a focus on questions as against answers, and trying to find a way forward through thinking.
- A considerable emphasis on love as opposed to selfishness.
How do we approach God?
- Conservative - God’s word found in the Bible is central to our meeting God.
- Here the teaching tends to be the strong point.
- The worship a little more formal in line with a reverence for God.
- Charismatic - The Holy Spirit, and lively music are central to worship.
- Here there is a focus on God speaking to us by His Spirit as being key, the teaching is not so rigorous in its approach to the Bible.
- High Church - The said prayers (liturgy) and Communion are central to worship.
- Church tends to be quite a solemn and formal event.
- There is a heavy emphasis on symbolism and the way physical things point to spiritual realities.
Other factors
- Mission
- Jesus commissioned His disciples to make disciples. This commission takes us from being inward looking to serving with an outward focus. A question to think about for any church is: What is the church’s mission?
- Denomination
- The denomination to which a church belongs will determine to a degree its beliefs (Theology), its style of worship, and its form of church government.
- These days denomination, while being an indicator to what you will find inside is not of prime importance.
I regret to say that some groups, even those that go by the name Christian can be sufficiently off track that I find it necessary to give you some indicators of danger signals. These are things to look out for, and if you see them , they might be a sufficient warning that you might want to walk away from the situation. The first indication is - Do they teach the gospel?
- What are the characteristics of the good news that saves?
- What historical and spiritual events are ‘most important’?
1 Corinthians 15: 1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters,* of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.*
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.5 He was seen by Peter* and then by the Twelve.6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers* at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church.
- Jesus encouraged us to look at the fruit of a ministry. Is the fruit in people’s lives - love?
- Is something or someone other than Jesus lifted up to the same level as Jesus, or Jesus brought down to the level of the rest of us?
- Is some book, revelation or teaching lifted up to the same level as the Bible, or the Bible brought down to the level of being a mere book?
Consider the following text where Jesus gave tests to evaluate a ministry.
- What did Jesus advise us to be wary of?
- How did Jesus tell us to identify these people?
- How can you observe the fruit of a leader, teacher or movement?
Matthew 7: 15 "Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.18 A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit.19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
We live in a consumer society in which there is a tendency to think only about our own needs and preferences. A church however is a community. We are not involved only for ourselves but also for all the others who are there - see Family. It is a good idea to take some time looking at the different churches in an area in order to make a wise choice, but when that choice is made, stick with it.
Fellowship Finders
In the UK there is a service called Fellowship Finders that could help you to find a church nearby. Their contact details are,
- Selsdon House, 212 - 220 Addington Road, South Croydon, CR2 8LD
- Phone 020 8768 3976
- E-Mail office@finders.uk.net
- www.finders.uk.net
Page appears in Beginnings titled - Choose a church
CHOOSE A CHURCH
