Finding a Church/Denomination

As a child I used to think there were only two types of Christians; Catholics and Baptists. In my teen years I discovered there were many denominations. Not sure why, but I assumed my family were Baptists so I usually told people I was Baptist if asked. My aunt is a Pentecostal evangelist and after years of her taking me to church, praying over me, and bible study, I finally decided that it was time for me to do these things on my own. However. Im not 100% sure if Pentecostalism has given me that satisfied feeling.

I really want to start going to church but I’m not sure where to start. How do I figure out which denomination is right for me? Should I explore different churches and wait for that “when you know, you know” feeling?

I am not a big fan of denominations ...not that they are all bad, but many are ... I tend to think of denominations as a splinter group from Christianity. (again, not all) But denominations tend to have works at the root of their foundation.
God should always be the subject and man the object .....religion tends to get that backwards, where man is the subject and God is the object.
If I were to give any advise ....I would say....look for a nondenominational Bible centered fellowship or organization. Aside from that, the most important criteria is asking God to open the doors and direct you to the right place.

Hello Alexiss,

Here's where I started. I made this decision and the rest fell into place one clear step at a time.

Good News

I have trouble with this too as I like various aspects of different denominations. In my experience, the nondenominational churches tend to have Baptist views. No church/denomination is "perfect", keep that in mind. And, no church/pastor will agree 100% with your views.

It depends on the particular congregation. I was compelled to go to an Anglican church. That was enough to put me off for life, or so I thought. After I was born again, I relealised that I needed to go to church. I went into an Anglican church, took one look and went out again. I went to the Baptists down the road a bit.

That was about 50 years ago. I now attend an Anglican church. The Vicar calls himself "pastor". He baptises adults by full immersion, by sprinkling or whatever the candidate chooses. He sprinkles babies. He loves Jesus and preaches a good word. There is a plethora of churches where I live. God has led me to the Anglican. I've had a far warmer and loving reception there than any of the other churches around my town.

I'm not interested in "isms". I look for those who love Jesus and His people. They are alive in Christ. Many have the right doctrines, but it is just intelectual acceptance of facts. That will leave you flat and empty. The words Jesus spoke are Spirit and Life. We need fellowships where the Word and the Spirit feed us and give us life also.

The NUMBER ONE best thing you can do is read your Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Otherwise, you will have a hard time knowing the truth of what is being taught. Of course, you will find error in every church usually in the area of traditions but some errors may call for you to leave the church.

A church at minimum must speak Biblical truth that holds to all the core doctrines (orthodox), has a loving/serving environment, and be willing to invest in you through discipleship.

It is helpful to research the history and beliefs of a denomination.

It is also helpful to research non-denominations as they are often a branch out of a denomination or movement. For instance, one nondenomination I attended very much aligned with the Charasmatic movement. The pastors background was a Pentecostal. So don't believe that nondenomination means they are welcome to all interpretations. It actually makes it more difficult to know what a nondenomination believes due to the fact they are not held to a denomination.

Just recently in the news, Rick Warren a former SBC hired 4 female pastors. Well the SBC kicked his church out of being part of the Southern Baptists. A denomination has standards that they publically defend.

A nondenomination can change so easily without public notice.

This is why it is crucial to know what the Bible says about all topics and debated theology.

2 Timothy 4:1-4
1 I charge thee, before God and Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead, by his coming, and his kingdom: 2 Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine. 3 For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. 4 And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. 5 But be thou vigilant, labour in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill thy ministry. Be sober.

I've attended baptist church all my life and recently started going to a non denominational with great similar preaching but with a twist of prosperity preaching. It was all great until I realize what prosperity preaching doesn't do is prepare you for the tough times and makes me loose hope when things aren't getting any better. So I don't think you have to choose right away might take several visits at the same church for you to decide.

Hi aAlexiSs,

That's always a tough question. I believe there are usually good and sincere believers in almost every denominational church that you may visit. For me, when I am looking for a place to fellowship, I am looking for people who are truly followers of Jesus and that starts with the servant leadership of the congregation. The first thing is this. Who's church is it? Christ is the head and we are all a part of the body. When I hear a pastor say, "I'm the lead pastor," I cringe because Jesus is the Lead Pastor. The thing that I have a problem with in denominational churches is that often the denomination is in charge of the direction of the churches, but it should be the Holy Spirit.

Even though I love the people in the churches I visit and I also care for the pastors, I also recognize that the system that has been handed down along the Catholic and Protestant lines have strayed from the Church that was started by Jesus. Once I realized that I have never been able to be satisfied with the traditional norm of the North American Evangelical Church.

That being said, I enjoy fellowship with believers and often preach in churches, I just can't get into the setup. I want to see the church of Jesus Christ be established in each city and not any other kind of church of any other allegiance.

One qualifier is this. Everyone is in error to some extent and God, in His mercy, reaches all the way down and still loves and blesses us. I do believe that there are still many good ministers and church groups out there who don't have everything right but they still have Jesus. When we move to a new place, we always try to find a smaller church where they notice us when we come and when we are away. Many of us have been to churches that are so large that after eight months people still ask us if we are new. Also, I believe that if we are going to attend a church, it should have a strong servant leadership (elders) and not be a pastor led congregation. It's just not Biblical. A pastor should be on the level of the elders. Everyone is accountable.

I hope that this can be an encouragement. I would be happy to talk to you more about it. I agree that a lot of choosing can come down to how we feel about it. The Lord uses our feeling too.

Most useful post in this thread to date.

If they disagree with the Bible it doesn't matter how friendly they are. They're going the wrong way.

I agree with reading the Bible and praying; but beware, the more you read the Bible the more you'll start noticing human traditions in all the churches. Some of them may be harmless, but personally I hate following traditions simply because they're traditions. If they aren't grounded in God's truth they probably don't have much power to transform anyone's life. I tend to take church with me rather than going to church; but I would like to find other like-minded believers to fellowship with. That's my prayer at least.

This is because you don't know what you believe or why you believe it.

This isn't a "feeling"....it's being unsettled because of conflicts within you from what your ears hear and what you believe to be true. Sure the excitement that a Charismatic church has is a relief in a certain way....but their scholarship usually is very lacking. (In my experience....there can be exceptions but I have yet to ever see one) The lack of excitement, transparency, and joy in Baptist churches also seems depressing very often.

I, personally can't take the dictator above the Methodist church who can yank the pastor/staff at the drop of a hat. I'm all about relationships...

CoC? I'm not that legalistic or that prideful to think that every other denomination is excluded. Even they have been slowly evaporating that notion. Just ask Max Lucado....his book sales come from a lot of denominations....just don't buy into his "Preachy" parts of his books. They are often wrong in scriptural hermeneutics.

But basically no one is going to have a perfect doctrine that lines up perfectly with what you personally believe. (Humans eh?)
So go where you make friends and can hang out to do stuff outside of church. That's the value of Church....the rest is just for show.

If you find a church that preaches the word without compromise, then it is a good church. I am part of a very conservative church that is leaning toward Calvinism, even though I do not consider myself a Calvinist, and I will occasionally do ministry outside my church with Pentacostals, even though I do not consider myself to be Pentecostal either. But there is no compromise in my church and the other folks in the church are wonderful prayerful people. And our very conservative church has some great community outreach through VBS and AWANA that I help with.

Baptists are known for obeying God's word, in the Bible, more than any other denomination. keep in mind, Proverbs 30:6- "ADD THOU NOT unto His words, lest He reprove thee & thou be found a liar". obeying God's word is not adding, taking away art changing it as catholics have grossly done. (no berating intended, just an example). if you are not a born again Christian, consider becoming one as Jesus taught in John 3:5. then ask Jesus to tell you what church you should join. consult trusting friends also. in the mean time, listen to adrian rogers, charles stanley, michael uceff, joseph prince, vernon magee, chuck smith, & kenneth hagin. and you are on your way!

around 1607-1610

I was laughing at your statement....it was funny.
I've worked diligently to understand what and why I believe what I do believe to be true.

And it was not easy by a long shot....I spent 40-60hrs/week for years doing private study of exactly what was said and why it was said the way it was said. The volumes of dry research tomes are not exactly very popular reading materials but usually expensive.

My son would cluck his tongue at me when he would find me literally buried at the breakfast table in books . The table covered and so was the space around my chair. Then I finally got some electronic academic books....so much less expensive.
And even though I have gone through all of that....I know that I still am not perfect. Meh! I'm human. I might be above average in knowledge of the average pew warmer....but far far from perfect.
But I do know what and why I believe what I do.