How to Find a Good Church
Almost 25 questions that will save you a lot of Sundays
Looking for a good church? Join the club. Church-shopping can be a long and painful process.
To shorten your search, call the pastor of the church before you visit and ask the following
questions. This might save you a lot of Sundays.
1. What is man's biggest problem, sin or self esteem?
Seeker sensitive and felt-needs churches focus on man’s hurts and problems. The Bible says
that man’s biggest problem is sin.
2. What must a man do to inherit eternal life?
Repent and trust is the Biblical answer. If the word “repent” is never used, say, “Thank you.”
3. How do you deliver the salvation message?
Ask the pastor to describe specifically what he says. Does he encourage people to simply say aThe salvation message should include: God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, God’s response (hell), God’s kindness (Jesus on a cross), man’s response (repentance and faith).
4. How hard is it to become a Christian?
The “formula” is simple, doing it is not. It is not easy to believe.
5. How often do you talk about sin, righteousness and judgment?Balance is key. This should not be the only emphasis, but it should be a regular emphasis.
6. How seeker sensitive is your church?
It is o.k. for a church to be “seeker aware” but seeker sensitive means that they lean toward
seekers and not the saved.
7. Who do you do church for, seekers or members?
“Both” is not acceptable. Church should be done for members and the unsaved are welcome to attend.
8. Do you dumb down your sermons?
If he says yes, he is probably not trying to wean his members from milk to meat. Answers like,
“We try to make our sermons accessible to everyone” are sermons that are not meaty.
9. What is your mixture of topical vs. expository preaching?
Topical preaching is fine, but if a pastor never or rarely preaches expositionally (verse by verse),
then you are going to be learning from the pastor and not God’s Word.
10. Do your sermons emphasize theology or are they just relevant?
Everyone should say their sermons are relevant, what you are looking for is if they teach
theology.
11. Describe your youth programs.
If fun and games is the major (and usually first) emphasis, you have a youth program that is trying
to compete with MTV.
12. Describe your evangelism programs.
Don’t just accept, “We have an evangelism committee.” Dig. Are they serious about saving
souls?
13. What church growth model do you follow?
Hopefully they don’t have one. Churches should be reaching out to the lost, but churches that
are plugged into new church growth models tend to follow man’s modern ideas rather than the
Bible.
14. How much do you give to missions and the hungry?
Again, this reveals the heart of the church. While most churches give to missions, many never
consider the poor.
15. Do you believe the Bible contains no errors or contradictions?
No equivocation allowed here.
16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation?
Jesus did (Matt.19:4).
17. Do you believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment?
Jesus did (Matt.25).
19. When you distribute the Lord's Supper, do you emphasize the need to examine
yourself?
Paul did (I Cor.11:27-32)
20. Can a person who is living in a persistent lifestyle of sin inherit eternal life?
Sinners can certainly be forgiven, but practicing sinners cannot inherit eternal life (I John3:8,9).
21. Does your church exercise church discipline?
Paul said we should (I Cor.5).
22. Do Sunday school teachers, nursery, and youth volunteers fill out an application to answer questions about their core beliefs and salvation, or are all volunteers accepted because of a lack of volunteers?
23.What are the essentials of the faith?
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation through faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture.
24. Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?
Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the cross.
Originally posted by RBHILLThank you for reminding me why I avoid churches.
How to Find a Good Church
Almost 25 questions that will save you a lot of Sundays
Looking for a good church? Join the club. Church-shopping can be a long and painful process.
To shorten your search, call the pastor of the church before you visit and ask the following
questions. This might save you a lot of Sundays.
1. What is man's biggest problem, ...[text shortened]... y?
Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the cross.
Originally posted by RBHILLRB, isn't a church substantively made up of people and ideas? For starters, a good church would be devoid of evangelists.
How to Find a Good Church
Almost 25 questions that will save you a lot of Sundays
Looking for a good church? Join the club. Church-shopping can be a long and painful process.
To shorten your search, call the pastor of the church before you visit and ask the following
questions. This might save you a lot of Sundays.
1. What is man's biggest problem, ...[text shortened]... y?
Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the cross.
Originally posted by scottishinnzActually, that is a good point as a lot of honest confession goes on in a pub. There is also a spirit of community. People who come to a pub usually accept that they are human. People face a lot of sorrows in a pub. People come to a pub because they want to and not because they feel obligated to be there.
Actually, I'd say the only good type of church is one that's been converted to a pub.
OK, I've got some better questions RB. Here are some I would ask:
1) Are women allowed positions of authority in your church?
2) Are gays and lesbians welcome to worship in a spirit of acceptance in your church?
3) What is the racial mix of your church?
4) How often do you all eat together?
5) What is your level of theological training?
6) What are some things you don't understand about the Bible?
7) Tell me one thing you like and dislike about Jesus.
8) What kinds of social programs does the church participate in?
9) What kinds of on-going training and spiritual direction do you participate in for yourself?
10) How long is your sermon?
11) What's the worst sermon you ever preached?
12) What part of ministry is a real pain in the ass for you?
13) What do you do for fun outside of the church?
14) Have you ever farted during church? (Must laugh at this one)
Originally posted by kirksey957I gotta say I like your questions a lot better. Then again, armed with both sets of questions it'd be very easy to find a place that's the right fit!
Actually, that is a good point as a lot of honest confession goes on in a pub. There is also a spirit of community. People who come to a pub usually accept that they are human. People face a lot of sorrows in a pub. People come to a pub because they want to and not because they feel obligated to be there.
OK, I've got some better questions RB. H ...[text shortened]... un outside of the church?
14) Have you ever farted during church? (Must laugh at this one)
I had a friend say that if a sermon/homily is done right, you should feel badly afterward. Geez, I could call my mother for that and sleep as late as I want on Sundays.
Originally posted by reader1107Ow. That's a seriously sad view of what's 'right' about sermons.
I had a friend say that if a sermon/homily is done right, you should feel badly afterward.
Sure, there are TIMES when feeling badly might be the appropriate result, as a motivation towards change, but to think that every sermon is supposed to achieve that? No way!
Sometimes they do the exact opposite. A good sermon can lift me up and make me ready to take on the whole world.
Um, about the original questions... I can understand the thinking behind them, but really, playing theological interrogator is only going to get you so far. I could still imagine a church getting all of these 'right' and still not being a suitable fit in terms of social interaction with peers or the style of music or whatever.
Originally posted by RBHILLWhy don't you just attend the church you feel God has called you to?
How to Find a Good Church
Almost 25 questions that will save you a lot of Sundays
Looking for a good church? Join the club. Church-shopping can be a long and painful process.
To shorten your search, call the pastor of the church before you visit and ask the following
questions. This might save you a lot of Sundays.
1. What is man's biggest problem, ...[text shortened]... y?
Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the cross.
Worked for me.
Originally posted by orfeoI learn more about a church by entering it and experiencing a Sunday. What are the people like? Did anyone say hello? Do they come in late (large numbers of them)? Do they rush out the door and leave as soon as it's over, or sooner? Do they sing like they're afraid to wake Jesus up, or like they're at a funeral? Is the congregation multiracial? Are there members of the congregation who are "outside the norm" in some way and are they welcomed? Are women and girls visible participants in worship leadership? Is the church service itself the only avenue of fellowship and spiritual growth?
Ow. That's a seriously sad view of what's 'right' about sermons.
Sure, there are TIMES when feeling badly might be the appropriate result, as a motivation towards change, but to think that every sermon is supposed to achieve that? No way!
Sometimes they do the exact opposite. A good sermon can lift me up and make me ready to take on the whole world.
...[text shortened]... suitable fit in terms of social interaction with peers or the style of music or whatever.