How to Find a Good Church, Questions you could ask.

[smithed64]

The following are just some simple questions you could ask the pastor.

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?
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 a prayer?
Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts?
The salvation message should include:
God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, God’s response (hell), God’s kindness (Jesus on the 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 expositional (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 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
John 3:8,9).

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, or are all volunteers accepted?

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? (edited 11/21/16)
Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the
cross. The message should be Christ crucified. We don't worship the cross, we worship at the cross. Remembering that Christ died for us while we sinned. So that we may be saved from the wrath of God.
We are to be crucified with Christ.

 

[Albion]

Some of these questions (the last one, for instance) would be applicable to very few Christian churches. Others are almost superfluous. What do you suppose a pastor is going to answer if quizzed on the importance (or lack of same) of examining oneself before receiving Holy Communion?

That said, there is no substitute for first understanding one's beliefs, then 'studying up' on the churches/denominations under consideration, then visiting them during worship, and only later -- when considering membership -- asking the pastors for some more information, such as some of these questions represent.

 

[Goodbook]

Thats a good list well, it looks like the one i was last attending is failing on a few points.

The scary thing is what if I send this list to ten different churches in my area and not one of them can answer these questions? What do I do then?

 

[Righttruth]

Churches have basically become social clubs. Attend for social benefits. For spiritual growth, have Bible Study Fellowship and share the words of Jesus and be His witness no matter what you church you attend

 

[Goodbook]

i have been thinking the way we go about finding a church is a bit wrong shouldn't the church or pastor go and find you if you a lost/wandering sheep?

Isnt a pastor someone who cares for the sheep and brings new ones into the fold? Why do the sheep need to knock on every door? Shepherds didn't just stay in one place and expect the sheep to come to them...

 

[Goodbook]

Also arent the shepherd supposed to call their sheep and the sheep follow not the sheep calling the shepherd (pastor). If the sheep needs to call its pastor isn't that the wrong way round?!

 

[TaylorSexton]

16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation?
Jesus did (Matt.19:4).

I'm unsure how the passage cited proves Jesus believed in a literalistic six day creation; it says nothing about the amount of time it took God to create, except that he did it "in the beginning."

Furthermore, everyone believes in a literal six day creation, because that's what the text says. However, not everyone is convinced of a literalistic six day creation. "Literal" cares about what the author meant; "literalistic" cares only for what the words mean to the person reading the text without any regard for what the author was attempting to communicate.

If we are going to ask such probing questions, we need to be exact with our language.

 

[smithed64]

I'm unsure how the passage cited proves Jesus believed in a literalistic six day creation; it says nothing about the amount of time it took God to create, except that he did it "in the beginning."

Furthermore, everyone believes in a literal six day creation, because that's what the text says. However, not everyone is convinced of a literalistic six day creation. "Literal" cares about what the author meant; "literalistic" cares only for what the words mean to the person reading the text without any regard for what the author was attempting to communicate.

If we are going to ask such probing questions, we need to be exact with our language.

I agree, God did do it in six days.

 

[John Davidson]

The following are just some simple questions you could ask the pastor.

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?
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 a prayer?
Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts?
The salvation message should include:
God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, God’s response (hell), God’s kindness (Jesus on the 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 expositional (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 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
John 3:8,9).

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, or are all volunteers accepted?

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. The cross should be the central focus of every church.

I find no use for this list. There are many requirements for a good church. But mainly the true test is are they Sola Scriptura? Do they teach the full counsel of God? Do they preach the word and administer the sacraments? Is the gospel of Christ's death and resurrection the central focus? The best church I have found is the LCMS.

There are so many requirements for a good church, your list is grossly incomplete.

 

[South Bound]

The following are just some simple questions you could ask the pastor.

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?
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 a prayer?
Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts?
The salvation message should include:
God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, God’s response (hell), God’s kindness (Jesus on the 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 expositional (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 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
John 3:8,9).

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, or are all volunteers accepted?

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. The cross should be the central focus of every church.

Excellent list. #21 is very important because very few churches exercise church discipline anymore.

 

[smithed64]

I find no use for this list. There are many requirements for a good church. But mainly the true test is are they Sola Scriptura? Do they teach the full counsel of God? Do they preach the word and administer the sacraments? Is the gospel of Christ's death and resurrection the central focus? The best church I have found is the LCMS.

There are so many requirements for a good church, your list is grossly incomplete.

If you don't like it, that's okay. Then don't use it.

Your right, there probably could be more added to it. But it's not incorrect.
It's written to make it simple and uncomplicated.

 

[John Davidson]

If you don't like it, that's okay. Then don't use it.

Your right, there probably could be more added to it. But it's not incorrect.
It's written to make it simple and uncomplicated.

Actually your list is extremely flawed. There is so much wrong with it that I don't know where to begin to start correcting you.

The most abhorrent thing about it is that it doesn't focus on the importance of God's love for us and the necessity of loving God and neighbor. The simplicity and good news of the gospel are transformed by you into a list of do's and don'ts. This is a form of legalism.

For sake of time I will only address one of your many many grave errors:

#24 Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?

This is a legalistic requirement. While many churches these days have crosses it is not necessary. We are to worship God in Spirit and in truth. This can be done without any physical symbol, relic, or graven image. The early church did not have crosses in their places of worship. While my church does have a cross I don't agree that it is a necessary requirement in order to worship God or hold a church service.

I would like to address more of your many gross errors but I don't have time right now.

Your list seems more like something that would be made by a Pharisee than a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

Jesus was more concerned with loving others than he was about some list of do's and don'ts. I don't mean to be hard on you but it appears you are in need of some severe correction.

 

[John Davidson]

23.What are the essentials of the faith?
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation through faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture.

Let's look at another one of your gross errors here. This is surely an extremely incomplete list of the essentials of the faith.

The Apostle's Creed sums up the basics of the Christian faith. But a truly good Church will teach the scriptures in their entirety so that the whole counsel of God is understood. The true essentials of the faith though are belief in the gospel of Christ, that he died on the cross for our sins and defeated death by rising on the third day.

 

[smithed64]

Actually your list is extremely flawed. There is so much wrong with it that I don't know where to begin to start correcting you.

Please feel free to show me what's so wrong. If I am wrong. I'll admit it.
If not, I won't change it.

The most abhorrent thing about it is that it doesn't focus on the importance of God's love for us and the necessity of loving God and neighbor. The simplicity and good news of the gospel are transformed by you into a list of do's and don'ts. This is a form of legalism.

Because it isn't about that. It's about finding a church. That preaches the Gospel yes. But also stands true to God's word.

For sake of time I will only address one of your many many grave errors:

#24 Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?

This is a legalistic requirement. While many churches these days have crosses it is not necessary. We are to worship God in Spirit and in truth. This can be done without any physical symbol, relic, or graven image. The early church did not have crosses in their places of worship. While my church does have a cross I don't agree that it is a necessary requirement in order to worship God or hold a church service.

I'm quite certain, you were not there at the early churches. So that statement is of your opinion. But I do agree that we shouldn't worship the cross. We worship at the cross.
Having a cross in the church isn't legalism, if so, then your church is just as legalistic as mine. It's a reminder, a symbol, of what God did for us.
And many of the churches that don't have one, are very much post modern and don't even preach the Gospel, Nor even preach about the fall of man and sin. And what God did to save those who are lost.

I would like to address more of your many gross errors but I don't have time right now.

Your list seems more like something that would be made by a Pharisee than a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

Being ugly doesn't fix anything. Still love ya.

Jesus was more concerned with loving others than he was about some list of do's and don'ts. I don't mean to be hard on you but it appears you are in need of some severe correction.

Please show me where Christ ever told someone to repent, because He loved them.
How about the rich young lawyer, Didn't Christ ask him questions, things that he has done and hasn't done.
Look them up. Read the sermon on the mount again. It was a list of those who do the right thing and those who don't.


I agree with you.
You don't need to have a cross in your church. But we do need to be reminded of what the Cross stands for. We don't worship the cross, we worship the one who died on that cross for us. I'll edit the cross one. that does come out not quite right now that I reread it.
Christ is central to the church. But we don't forget the cross.
It's to remind us to be crucified with Christ.

Galatians 2:20 ESV / 81 helpful votes

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

John 3:16 ESV / 74 helpful votes
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 ESV / 68 helpful votes
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.


Again, if you don't like these. That's fine. Don't use them. They are suggestions.
You may not like the questions, but that doesn't make them wrong.[/quote][/quote]

 

[smithed64]

Let's look at another one of your gross errors here. This is surely an extremely incomplete list of the essentials of the faith.

The Apostle's Creed sums up the basics of the Christian faith. But a truly good Church will teach the scriptures in their entirety so that the whole counsel of God is understood. The true essentials of the faith though are belief in the gospel of Christ, that he died on the cross for our sins and defeated death by rising on the third day.

That's what I said. If you know the answers then you ask the question.
That was a list. You are looking to hear about the list in the response to the question.
They are questions, not a doctrinal dissertation.

It's like if you go to a a dentist and you ask him, "Do I have a cavity?" you want to hear in the answer, about teeth, brushing, flossing, what causes cavities, whether or not you have one or not.
You listening to see, if the question is answered, using some of the key words in the list.

 

[John Davidson]

If you are going to be instructing others on what they should be looking for in a church then you yourself should have an understanding of what that entails and you clearly don't.

 

[John Davidson]

Calvary Chapel and The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod are consistently the best churches you will find.

I would also consider The Presbyterian Church of America and The Southern Baptist Convention.

Of coarse there are many good churches.

But the main thing to look for is are they faithful to the Word.

There is of coarse no perfect church they all have flaws.

 

[John Davidson]

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
John 3:8,9).

Let's take another one of your grave errors here.

In my church every week we say, "God have mercy on me a poor miserable sinner".

The fact of the matter is that every human being is a "practicing sinner". We all sin every day in thought, word, and deed.

So to say that those who live a "persistent lifestyle of sin" cannot inherit eternal life means that no one can.

Eternal life is the free gift of Christ that is not based upon our merit or good works.

Ultimately Christ will be the judge but remember it was the sinner who was justified and not the Pharisee:

Luke 18:9-14

1 Timothy 1:15
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

 

[John Davidson]

I find much wrong with all 24 of your points but unfortunately I am unable to invest the time to correct all your errors.

Hopefully you will get your thinking straightened out.

 

[John Davidson]

They are questions, not a doctrinal dissertation.

If you are going to make a thread coaching others about what they should ask a church about the "essentials of the faith" then shouldn't you know what those essentials are and be able to list them correctly?

It's like the blind leading the blind here.