First, I suggest you make a list of what you want in a church. Use the following for help.

+ Is the teaching and preaching in the church firmly based on the whole Bible only and its truths? (2 Tim 3:16-17, 4:2)

+ Do they preach Jesus Christ and His bodily resurrection? (Lk 1:35; Is 43:10-11; Phil 2:5-11, Col 1:19, 2:3, 8-9; John 1:1, 3:16, 10:17-18, 20:28; 1 Tim 2:5; 1 Cor 15:1-4)

+ Is the music and hymns in the Sunday services based on Bible teachings?

+ Does the church provide teachings for each member of your family?

+ Ask to read the church's "Statement of Faith" and /or the creeds they subscribe to. If they don't use creeds or have a Statement of Faith (and some don't) ask to read their equivalent to these.

+ Do you believe you could go to one of the church's pastor with a problem or personal need?

+ Do you feel at home with others in the church?

+ Are there opportunities provided to meet others in the church?

+ Do you sense that the people are friendly and honestly concerned about you?

+ Are there people of the right age group to provide sufficient fellowship for each member on your family?

+ Do you see any place in which you could be used in the church?

+ Is the church honestly interested in meeting other's needs, both spiritually and physically.

+ Do they reach out to the near by communities with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do they have a strong missionary program?

+ Are they a "closed" church? Would you have difficulty "breaking in" to a position of responsibility?

+ Is the church geographically accessible to allow you to become as involved as you want to be?

+ It may be that not all of these questions are of equal importance to each member of your family as you consider a church. However, a balance of teaching, fellowship and service are necessary for your healthy Christian growth.

+ God has a church for you. You just have to search for which one.

+ Keep in mind that while a national denomination may clearly be Christian and have a sound organization, some individual congregations within this denomination may not be. This is why you must take time and apply good judgement in selecting a local church that fits your needs. After I left Mormonism and was regularly attending a local church, Webster Assembly of God, it took two years of attending before I was comfortable enough to formally become a member.

+ Some signs of churches to stay away from or to approach very carefully. (1 Thess 5:21, 1 John 4:1, Rom 16:17-18)

-  Be very concerned about any church that applies continuing pressure to become a member.
- As you search keep in mind that some "churches" that claim to be Christian really are not. There are too many that fall into this category to give a complete list. Two major one I know of are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) and The Watchtower Society (the Jehovah's Witnesses). There are many more, some very large, as the Mormons, some as small as one congregation.
- Do they want to know too many details about your personal life? Do they try to tell you how to handle these details? In other words, are they telling you how to run every part of  your life?
- Do they teach the historical Trinitarian concept of God? Most counterfeit Christian churches do not.
- Do they claim to be the only church/denomination that has the "truth," the only way to heaven? A true Christian church will not make such a claim.
- Do they recognize the baptisms by other sound Christian churches/denominations? Many counterfeit Christian churches will not.
- Be careful of terminology. Some groups, like the Mormons, use Christian terms, but have redefined the words to fit their non-Christian beliefs and teachings.
- Is the church driven by the experiential (feelings & emotions in the place of the Bible), seeking after signs, casting out of demons?
- Do they encourage unusual emotional demonstrations and out-bursts by individuals or groups in the their services. This would include "holy laughter," fainting, yelling, barking, rolling around or other unusual verbal or body motions.
- Do they say only one translation of the Bible (the King James for one example) is the only one acceptable? Do they say that any other translation is unacceptable and not from God and those that use it are lost?
- Christian churches have historically held their worship services on Sunday. Examine very carefully those that don't.

+ When you interview the pastor of a church you are interested in order to get answers to the above questions, also ask the following. As you discuss these issues look for how the Bible is used to support what is said.

-  What is your testimony about Jesus Christ?
-  Can a person be a pastor, or in other leadership positions, in this church and be  involved  in homosexuality or adultery or fornication or divorce or drunkenness or other public sins ? (1 Thess 5:22)
-  What are the reasons that would cause a pastor, or others in top leadership, to lose their church job?
-  What do you think of the Bible?
-  Do you see the Bible as the only prime source of reliable information about the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the plan of salvation?
-  How can we spend eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ? (Rom 10:9-11; John 3:16, 5:24; Eph 2:8-9)
-  What is the role of good works in our salvation? (Eph 2:10; Phil 2:13; James 2:17-26)
-  What is the gospel? (see 1 Cor 15:1-4) Be very careful of anything but a simple answer.
- Faith in Jesus Christ, His death, burial and resurrection.

John Farkas, Berean Christian Ministries, P.O. Box 1091, Webster, NY 14580
E-mail:   bcmmin@frontiernet.net  Web pages:  Mormonism: http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin
Jehovah's Witnesses:  http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/jwstd.htm

misc/chursele      11-16-99