Finding good churches takes time. Whether you've moved, or are just looking for a new religion, here are some tips on selecting a congregation to join.
Finding a good church takes time. There may be many different reasons why you are looking for a church. Perhaps you just became more religious, you have moved into a new city, or you were not satisfied with your old church. Whatever the reason, there is usually a church that you can find in your grasp that you will enjoy and feel connected to.
One way to find a church is to search the yellow pages. What churches are closest to you geographically? Those might be the first churches to check out. However, they may not be the best churches for you. Plenty of people have to travel a bit to get to their church, but they think it is worth it, since it gives them satisfaction and makes them feel close to God.
Once you have your list of churches that would be the most desirable geographically, you should probably phone them and ask them some questions before you actually go to them. You will want to ask them questions about the church's beliefs. Do they correlate with yours? If you are a Christian, for example, you would want to know if the church thought that the Bible was the true word of God, if they believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God and died on the cross for our sins, and things such as that. Try to ask them as many questions as you can think of and make sure the answers are the same as your beliefs.
If, when you call, you find a church or churches that are close to you and they seem to have the same beliefs system as you, now it is probably time to do some church-hopping. Try a different church every week for as long as it takes you to try all of the reasonable ones on your list. Bring a notepad maybe, with a list of requirements on it that you are looking for in a church. Some of them may be:
Do I want a big or small church?
Do I want a church with mostly older people, or do I want some youth in the church?
When I went to the church, were people friendly, and did people introduce themselves?
Did the sermon and pastor "click" with me? Did I think about the sermon even after church was over? Did the sermon say something to me? Was it interesting? Challenging? Or was I sleeping all through it?
Did the church demand money from me, or did they just lovingly encourage me to cheerfully give? (This can be a breaking factor for many churches.)
Are there a lot of opportunities for getting involved in the church? Are there Bible studies to get involved in? Are there opportunities for the children to have Sunday school of some sort? Are there volunteering opportunities within the church? Is the church actively involved in missions? Is the church actively involved in giving to the poor?
Is the church charismatic, speaking in tongues, with people dancing in the aisles, or is it more traditional with people sitting down and silent, with only the Pastor speaking? Which one am I more comfortable with?
Was my first impression of the church good or bad?
Is the music more contemporary or mostly hymns? Which one do I prefer?
Does the church have a school affiliated with it for the kids?
What time are the services? Are they too infrequent, too early, or too late to correspond to my schedule?
These are only some of several questions you may want to ask when choosing a church. It may take several weeks, possibly even months to find your dream church. If you can't find a church very close to you that you like, and religion is important to you, branch out and travel a little. A half hour drive on Sundays to church isn't too bad when you think of all the inner peace with God you may find when you get there, or the fellowship you may get with other believers.
