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Hi again. I posted a similar thread in the advice section but felt it more appropriate to post it here. My church is Trinitarian Pentecostal and will be closing sometime this month. I was raised Free Methodist. Not sure what to look for, and denomination isn't important to me. How will I know when God points it out?
I already responded to your thread in the Advice forum, but if you could list criteria it would help us make suggestions. As stated before, it may be beneficial to do some research to narrow options. I realize you said denomination doesn't matter, but there are very real differences in doctrine & practice to be considered.
I would avoid looking for some sort of divine sign for God to "point it out" for you. Arm yourself with information & explore your options.
Now that I've had time to think about it, I do have some criteria listed. Most importantly, a church that teaches biblical truth even if it makes us uncomfortable. I want to walk in to a church service, feel the presence of God and know that it's him. I do not believe in cessationalism at the moment and am looking for a church were the gifts of the spirit are present.
Just an afterthought, but if anyone on this forum is from the Akron area, can you give me information about a few churches I have in mind? PM me for details please.
Hi again. I posted a similar thread in the advice section but felt it more appropriate to post it here. My church is Trinitarian Pentecostal and will be closing sometime this month. I was raised Free Methodist. Not sure what to look for, and denomination isn't important to me. How will I know when God points it out?
My boyfriend and I are searching for a church home. We made it a goal to attend 10 different churches. During that time, we are looking at the statements of faith for each church because while denomination isn't too big of a deal, we don't want to end up in one in which we don't agree with their teachings.
After we attend 10 churches, we are going to go back to the ones we liked for 3 weeks in a row each to get a better feel for the congregation and style because that's important too when looking for a place to connect.
We are going into it prayerfully, too. We sat down together one day and made a list of what we are looking for in a church, including "must haves" like sound doctrine and "would be nice" such as evening women's Bible studies. No church is going to have everything on the list, but it's at least a start for us to have direction. I would suggest you try something similar too.
Wow. Well, I'm impressed. I especially applaud the idea of going back several times to the same church.
We here often urge seekers to make the kind of personal search--visits--that you describe, but we're reluctant to recommend the level of attention to the task that you've described. However, it is going to give you the best chance of avoiding a hasty decision that will later be regretted.
Thank you. I cannot take all the credit for that approach. My former pastor counseled my parents to visit a church three times before making a decision to join, so that's where I got that idea. My bf and I came up with the idea of visiting 10 different churches from a book we were reading about dating (I can't remember the name of it). We didn't agree with the approach to dating but we felt that we could use some of the principles in our church hunt. And the list idea came from us needing to figure out what we are looking for together so that we are on the same page.
Another one is whether the church approves of a couple living together before marriage. I'm sure you guys have your deep thoughts on this as well, but it's good to be sure what they think.
Yes, that would fall under the doctrinal part. We are not living together and will not be, but integrity is big and the church's view on sin should play a big part in deciding whether or not to attend.
It's certainly not something that can be found out about overnight; a lot of prayer and research is necessary.Wow. Well, I'm impressed. I especially applaud the idea of going back several times to the same church. One time is essential, but you often don't get the whole picture in the first visit and there can be a lot of distractions on that initial time.
We here often urge seekers to make the kind of personal search--visits--that you describe, but we're reluctant to recommend the level of attention to the task that you've described. However, it is going to give you the best chance of avoiding a hasty decision that will later be regretted.
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