Over the course of our many moves with my husband's military career, we have refined our church-hunting process, following the same steps every time he receives new orders. I find visiting a church for the first time difficult. It is never easy, and it is never comfortable. It feels like crashing someone else’s family reunion. But it is worthwhile. If you're searching for a church and unsure where to start, I hope our process proves helpful and encouraging.

My husband and I are not denominationally allegiant. So, as I begin the early process of searching, I don’t start with a denomination. We’ve learned that a great denominational church in one city does not mean that we’ll find a great one in the next. We have attended a variety of denominations. But, there are some we do not attend, as their essential beliefs do not align with what we believe the Bible teaches. God has graciously placed us in diverse church communities, where we have encountered biblically sound teaching that has stretched our understanding, deepened our faith, and strengthened our commitment to His Word. Some of these steps may differ if you have a strong denominational affiliation.

Step One: Search

I usually begin an online search with The Gospel Coalition’s Church Directory. However, this directory offers only two options in a small, remote city like our current home. In that case, I turn to Google Maps to find more churches. I check the church’s website to identify its denominational affiliation since this informs me about their beliefs and how they practice ordinances. If I’m unfamiliar with the denomination or the church is non-denominational, I study the “What We Believe” page to see if its beliefs and practices align with biblical principles.

Step Two: Check The Preaching

I look at the preaching once I am sure their beliefs are biblical. Most church websites have recorded sermon archives available through a link to their YouTube channel or embedded Vimeo files. First, I look through the sermon titles to see if sequential passages of Scripture are the main topic. We look for a church that preaches verse-by-verse through large portions of Scripture. I listen to a sermon and look for the five marks of good preaching.

Step Three: Check The Ministries

Once I’ve confirmed that the central beliefs and teachings are biblically sound, I check the website’s Calendar, Events, or Get Connected pages to explore the church's ministries. My search sometimes slows down here if little information is available, but I can often learn a great deal about a church from these pages. The ministry information allows me to determine if a church offers a relational discipleship community that helps believers mature or just an à la carte menu of various programs that keep church members busy.

The List

From this research, I create a shortlist of churches to visit. Sometimes, a church fulfills all of my search criteria, and I’m excited to visit. Other times, a church meets some of my criteria, and I’m curious to see how well they make disciples, but I'm uncertain about what I’ll find. My husband and I review the list together, refining it further.

Step Four: First Visit

We begin with the church we are most hopeful for and start visiting. We attend the Sunday service and speak with as many people as possible. We hope to be welcomed warmly into a family of believers unified in love and serving each other (1 Peter 4:10-11), reaching the lost (Matthew 28:19-20), and growing in spiritual maturity (2 Peter 3:18). We hope to get in the car after church and quickly decide to return next week. Sometimes, we visit once and know we’ll move on to the next church on the list. We often visit once and decide that maybe this church serves, reaches, and grows, but we’re not sure yet, and we discuss whether we should visit again next week or try another.

Step Five: Deeper Visit

Once we decide to keep visiting, we visit the church's ministries outside of Sunday morning. I join the ladies' Bible study, my husband participates in the men’s accountability group, we attend the church picnic, or we join a small group. We hope to witness church members serving one another in these places, equipped for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). We hope to see new disciples being taught and growing (Hebrews 5:14) alongside mature believers leading and teaching (Colossians 3:16). We hope to find a place to share our lives, pray for other and be prayed for (Ephesians 6:18), study the Bible to grow in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and grow into more mature believers in the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:13-14).

Step Six: Assess

Wise assessments require a balance of discernment and grace. Assessment has been easy in a few wonderful places, and we know a church is home after just a few weeks. But often, we visit for a few months and then have to consider if committing to this church is obedient to our calling to be the church (1 Corinthians 12:27-31), to reach the lost (Romans 10:14-15), and to walk in the light as he is in the light (1 John 1:7). If this church is failing to utilize the spiritual gifts of its people, reach the lost, or grow disciples into greater maturity, we need to keep looking. If the church is doing these things but has non-essential beliefs or practices we disagree with, we need to decide whether to extend grace over the disagreements or, in discernment, move on.

For example, during our current church search, we visited the churches in town that share biblically aligned beliefs and preach verse by verse through Scripture. In each of those churches, we found a lack of spiritual unity, a lack of active spiritual gifts used by the church body, a lack of new disciples coming in, or a tight-knit and closed community where we struggled to integrate and grow alongside others. So, we started again at step one and made a new list to include biblically aligned churches that preach topically, still filtering through the five marks of good preaching. We were blessed to find a body with biblical preaching, although topical, and a warm community of believers who joyfully welcomed my family into their cycle of rich discipleship. When we move again, we will look for verse-by-verse teaching. But for now, we are part of a church that serves, reaches, and grows, and we have extended grace over the practice of topical preaching.

Step Seven: Join or Move on

We join, committing our membership to this local church body for the duration of our stay in this city, or we move on to the next church on the list until we find one to join.

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