How did you choose your denomination?

[trek4]

I am curious as to how everyone chose the denomination or church they presently attend. I am not exactly a new christian but I have never actively attended or been a member of a church. My father was Irish Catholic and my mother German Presbyterian (what a mix eh?). I attended Sunday school for a short time and have visited a few churches over the years but I find myself now without any religious friends of any kind..the few friends who have not moved away are very anti-religion. Never grew up with it and have no interest in it now. I would really like the fellowship with like-minded individuals but...where to start? If I don't even have a specific denomination to narrow things down...wow. This has been the problem my entire adult life..and I am very shy when first getting to know people. So my question is..for those of you who did not have a specific denomination from childhood, or changed as an adult, how did you make that decision?

 

[Sketcher]

I've always been non-denominational because that's what my parents were. Specifically my dad is ex-Catholic and my mom was raised as a conservative Presbertyrian. They go by "what the Bible teaches, no man-made rules." They have gone to Presbertyian, Church of Christ, non-denominational, and Evangelical Free churches.

Presbertyrians are genreally more liberal these days. So much so that my grandfather left the denomination recently so it wouldn't be a stumbling block to the prisoners he was reaching out to. They'd ask him what kind of church he went to, because they wanted to find the same kind of church and he would cringe. His church was a good one, but so many are not, you see.

 

[Perceptor]

I was brought up an Irish catholic and pretty much hated it, and it turned me against God... and then when I decided to go back and seek Christ, I searched the other churches in my area, and there was only one non denominational (the rest were Catholic)

I suggest you try out a few different churches, if you're not sure on the doctrines of all the different denominations, it might be best to start off with a non demoninational one and see how you like it.

 

[sunshinejennii]

Personally having grown up in a Baptist church, and attended friends and relatives churches, and various christian events I established that I was looking for somewhere simple, not too large and with a real focus on getting back to the basics of the Bible and not getting caught up in things which while important to some are not dire in the whole grand scheme of things. When I came to uni I listened to people's descriptions of their churches and each week went to a different church that sounded like I might like it, with a lot of prayer I found one church while felt right. It's not the same denomination as I've been brought up in, but it doesn't matter.

I guess maybe it's different in the US. In Britain the difference as an attending member between denominations is never huge. In one town the Methodist church might be very lively and youth orientated, in another it might have an older congregation and be quite traditional. Nowadays the denomination of the church doesn't reflect the more general ethos of the church.

I'd suggest that you find out what you can about your local churches (Do they have a website? Or even just look at what they advertise outside). Visit the sub-sections on here to get a feel for the general vein of the denominations (some are more keen to be seperate from secular society than others), most people just find that they identify more with a particular area, or at least are able to rule out certain denominations. Then maybe you could visit one or two churches which seem interesting, they should be somone on the door welcoming people, and they'll be happy to tell you whether the service is likely to be typical of that church or not. Just attending one service can tell you a lot about the group of people who form the church. I visited one church whose political views came across very clearly in the sermon and given the size of the church I found the way in which it was approached very unsettling, I didn't feel welcome either, or like I could be part of the family of God, and while I was comfortable with some aspects of the service the particular combination just didn't right to me, from just that one service I could see that there biblical foundation was a littl shaky.

 

[Dark_Lite]

I originally grew up Methodist, then drifted into Agnosticism for about three years until I began searching for something spiritual yet again. All of the reading and research I did led me to where I wound up: the Catholic Church. Just fully converted in May.

 

[snoochface]

I am non-denominational, and if I ruled the world () there would be no denominations - only Bible believing, Bible following Christians.

I don't like religions that include extra-Biblical doctrine as a mandate for followers. I don't like man made rules. I don't even like things that people do for the sake of tradition. But that's just me.

 

[Pasat_14]

I wasnt brought up in a christian family, but my dad used to be catholic. So i started looking in to that. But all my friends were lutheran, so i went to their church and now i see myself as a lutheran coz I have learnt what the differences are.

 

[cotton_tail_lion]

wow, comparativly i took a very cut and dry approach to choosing a denomination! so, here's how i picked united methodism:

i was a pagan
i decided to go back to being a christian (grew up in a relativly religion free home, but went to adventist schools)
went online, and started researching the belief systems of all the denominations that i knew existed
picked the one with political, religious, and social views that agreed with my own.

that worked for me because i have very strong political and social views, and refused to attend a church with "official" views that were incompatable with my own

 

[snoochface]

went online, and started researching the belief systems of all the denominations that i knew existed
picked the one with political, religious, and social views that agreed with my own.

that worked for me because i have very strong political and social views, and refused to attend a church with "official" views that were incompatable with my own

I'm glad that worked for you, but it is the method I would recommend last, especially to the original poster.

You went into searching with your beliefs already set, looking for a church that matched what you believe. This is part of the reason why I am personally opposed to man-made "religions" or denominations of any kind. Your beliefs may follow the Bible completely - but they may not, so searching for a church based on your personal beliefs may not result in finding a church that is completely Biblical. (I am not implying at all that this is what happened with you, I am just saying that it is a danger of using this method.)

If we believe the Bible to be the true Word of God, I feel we should become familiar with what it says, believe that, and find a church that follows, teaches, and lives God's word.

 

[megg]

I choose a non denominational church for the bible based teaching. I originally choose it because it was a place that I felt very comfortable, like going home. Whatever church you choose, it should feel like home.

 

[christianmomof3]

I went to church with the friend who preached the gospel to me and I still meet with that group. It is not a denomination - it is the Lord's Recovery - there is info about it on these sites http://www.christianwebsites.org/
http://localchurches.org/beliefs/index.html
and localities are listed here http://localchurches.org/contact-us/index.htm
I think rather than looking for a denomination, it is best to look for the church, the body of Christ, a group that you can fellowship and enjoy the Lord with. Pray and ask the Lord to lead you to the right group for you, whether it is a denomination or not. The Lord will guide you to where you should be.

 

[dalej42]

I'd strongly encourage visiting different churches. It is true that there may be a major difference even between churchs of the same denomination in your area.

Obviously, try to be familiar with the different customs. For example, non-Catholics can't receive communion in their church. As far as the various parts of different services, it is usually pretty easy to figure out what is going on.

Also, many churches have online services. You might watch a few of them to get an idea of what is going on.

 

[delvalle4580]

I attended a few churches untill I found the one that follows the bible and nothing else

 

[heymikey80]

I'm a Presbyterian because the church family at First Pres' Augusta accepted me where I was, as I was, and wouldn't leave me like I was but wanted to help me in every way they could find at hand.

They knew they weren't perfect, but they wanted to change to be more Christ-like. They were plenty like Christ toward me.

That was awhile ago for me, over 25 years, but their impact has not run out of steam, yet. It probably wasn't their impact, I guess if you get right down to it. But by every visible cause, it was.

 

[Virgil the Roman]

I'm currently a Roman Catholic, and have been all my life. only within the past three years, have I truly embraced Jesus Christ in my christ and it's been uplifting. !

 

[Robskiwarrior]

I was brought up CofE, then when I left home I went to a Pioneer church. When I left there becuase I moved house I am now in an Open Breathen Church.

I dont like to give myself a lable of denomination, I ended up in those places because God led me to them.

 

[JPPT1974]

I was born a Southern Baptist and raised that way
As well as been taught doctrine from the SBC
But consider myself non-denominational
It really doesn't matter what denominational you belong to just as you as worship with the right heart and right Lord!

 

[Onomatopoeia]

My husband and I had been attending for a couple of years, a non-denominational church that fell closely in line with Pentecostal beliefs and LOVED it. Meanwhile, his Nazarene parents were constantly wanting us to attend church with them, which I was avidly against- I didn't like the idea of being a "member" of a specific denomination. When we moved out with his parents we decided our former church was too far away to stay actively involved, and began attending with his parents until "we found a new church." Meanwhile, I spent hours researching and visiting any and all non-denominational churches in our area-after all, I didn't want to get caught up in a denomination. Over time his parents church grew on me, as well as him, until we realized that we had already found the church we were supposed to be in. Now I'm heavily involved with the children's ministry, as well as the puppet ministry. My husband and I both are youth sponsors, and he works in the bus ministry. So much for not wanting to ever be a specific "denomination."

That whole situation has been an invaluable lesson for me. For close to 4 years his parents were on us to go to their church, and we always resisted-for varying reasons. Now I regret all the time I missed out with a congregation that has become our extended family.

 

[AllTalkNoAction]

I attended a few churches untill I found the one that follows the bible and nothing else

Which one is that delvalle ?

 

[BeLedbyHisSpirit]

Hi Trek4,

I'd like to explain a few things to you about what Christ's Body is, and is not.

The church (Jesus' body) is comprised of His people, joined together by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is it's Head, each of us individually joined to one another through Him.

There is only one Body of Christ. One church.

It's a drag, to say the least, that all the institutional expressions exist, and cut themselves off from one another by emphasizing various things to distinguish themselves from others, i.e. use of musical instruments or none at all; dancing or just singing allowed; belief and practice of spiritual gifts among the brethren and not practicing or believing in gifts; dressing in finest attire or blue jeans and T's allowed; Breaking of bread and wine every meeting or just ocassionally; and more.

Jesus said that if a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. Paul elaborates (1 Cor 12) on this.

If a finger should cut itself off from the hand, would the finger continue to live? No, of course not. And yet, that is what denominations have done. They say "We are it", or even if they don't blatantly exclaim that, that is what it amounts to in one form or another. Even the denomination of the "non-denominationals." <sheesh>

In my early years, I learned that even being anti-institutional, had the danger of being the "institution of the anti-institutionals". <bad joke?>

- - - - -
Some wisdom

I would hearken the words of the one girl who wrote on here about the dangers of finding a local church wherein its beliefs and practices "agree" with your own. Her words were right on - dangerous, especially if your own likes/dislikes are completely full of error!

Rather, study the scriptures and adjust yourself to Him.
- - - - -

Regarding finding others with whom to fellowship, well, Lord willing! People can go 40 years and never have found a true friend. People may discover after many years that that "best friend" was a devil. Why? Because the friendship had not been tested or tried very much. IF circumstances in their life are always cordial, well then, what's to get all roused about if nothing had confronted the relationship? But if the relationship gets threatened, or a conflict of any degree occurs, well then, you start to see what it is made of.

The point being that it is a rare thing to find another follower of Jesus whom you can really have that precious type of intimacy with. It is a true blessing of God, when He links you up with another of that quality.

- - - - -

As you pursue Christ by the Holy Spirit, and as you learn to embrace suffering, you will begin to become a living testimony - Christ written on your heart by experience, and not on tablets of stone or paper. YOU, are the letter, to be read by all. (This is SOOoooo cool!!!!)

You may or may not find great fellowship in the Holy Spirit, regardless of where you look (institutional churches or not), but if you continue to look to Jesus, literally, for all things, you can be assured of His filling your every need.