"In your Community, For your Family"
"In your Community, For your Family"
Listed below is a loose and non-judgmental checklist I use to measure whether any church environment might be compatible for me and my family:
Because churches grow and improve over time, the main thing I will "personally" ask myself is:
Special Note: If God calls you to a church or location, trust he will provide you with what is lacking for yourself and your family... "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." ~ Phil 4:19
Other Notes: I am also mindful to "Comprehend with all saints" and also there is the continual practice that no matter where I go, I'm bringing church, praise, worship, the Spirit of God with me, because HE lives in me. I can praise, worship, appreciate the presences and components of God anywhere, if HE lives in me... we are the church, not the building.
The church is the "Spiritual Hospital" or "Spiritual University" (Health & Education)
Large Churches ($$$) <-----------|(balance)|-----------> Small Churches ($)
Large Churches ($$$)
Small Churches ($)
Balance (somewhere in the middle)
Soul Saving Gospel <-----------|(balance)|-----------> Inspiring Historical Story
Soul Saving Gospel
Inspiring Historical Story
Balance (somewhere in the middle)
Soul Saving Preacher <-----------|(balance)|-----------> Great Motivational Preacher
Soul Saving Preacher
Great Motivational Preacher
Balance (somewhere in the middle)
Soul Saving Church <-----------|(balance)|-----------> Great Community Programs
Soul Saving Church - (being a part of God)
Great Community Programs - (being a part of the church)
Balance (somewhere in the middle)
I would like to provide a reference about churches that I have talked with or met with and feel they share similar mission, vision, and values. This is not an extensive list - there are other viable options for spiritual support in our community. My "personal" primary concern is do they baptize in Jesus name, do they practice helping people get filled with the Holy Ghost (as stated in Acts 2:38), AND do they appear to be upstanding people of good reputation in church and in the community.
Disclaimer - Not all churches I recommend have the exact same doctrinal set. They may be a church of a different denomination than my "personal standing", but have excellent forms of ministry and community outreach, which I think should be modeled after. I will make sure to identify these churches with "***" before their name.
I will provide my "Larry4Christ Church Review Metric", so you have some type of "subjective" review of each church. I will try to AVOID doing any specific personal reviews or commentary on any church. If I provide commentary it will only be to speak about the positive aspect and growth opportunities I see happening. Otherwise I will simply provide the metric from A to Z, 1,2,3,4 and reply with "yes - y", "no - n", "maybe - m", "sort of - s" or "don't know - ?". Please take all information as a "snap-shot" perspective.
Use the above metric as a possible "checks and balances" for what you Personally and Prayerfully believe God is telling you is needed for you and your family. This is my way of trying to help lost souls who are desperate to find the right place to experience God. Again, I encourage everyone to continually seek God in prayer for HIS path for you and your family.
I also encourage families to do google reviews on churches. I'm sorry, but people should tell other people about their experience with churches and even people in auxiliary, I think that should be public information. The bible tells us to 'sanctify the Lord God in our hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that ask a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear' ~ 1 Pet 3:15. Churches should take any review or commentary as an opportunity to give an answer to it, and also use it as a way to help them improve their offerings to the public.
You shouldn't say anything negative about a church...
Them - "You shouldn't say anything negative about a church"...
Me - When a church tells you not to say anything critical about them, that is a sign of an unhealthy, abusive church. We're NOT talking about saying slanderous or negative things, we're talking about providing healthy "constructive criticism"... "construct" meaning to "build up" not "tear down". Now if people, in their sinful nature, want to slander the church, it'll be obvious that it's just slander. I personally don't think anything will prevail against the truth.
My encouragement to the church...
My encouragement to the church is to stand firm on the foundation of God, be steadfast in your identity, consistency, and most importantly Growth in Christ. Nobody's perfect; we all know (or should know) that no church is perfect... as a matter of fact, the church building became "imperfect" as soon as we walked through the church doors. People in the church may always be imperfect... but we should all be "striving for perfection", knowing that we cant do it on our own, and God will have to add to us to help us reach that final state of perfection/holiness. ~ 1 Cor 10:13; ~ 2 Cor 12:8-10
Template Metrix (for admin use):
*** | y = yes| n = no | m = maybe | s = sort of | ? = don't know | e = excellent | g = good | a = average | b = below average | p = poor
Denomination -
Church Name -
Location -
Website -
(A) - ; (B) - ; (C) - ; (D) - ; (E) - ; (F) - ; (G) - ; (H) - ; (I) - ; (J) - ; (K) - ; (L) - ; (M) - ; (N) - ; (O) - ; (P) - ; (Q) - ; (R) - ; (S) - ; (T) - ; (U) - ; (V) - ; (W) - ; (X) - ; (Y) - ; (Z) - ; (1) - ; (2) - ; (3) - ; (4) - ; Positive commentary -
...
...
...
...
...
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.