During this final series, we’re going to talk through what it’s like to be sent to a new church or “how to choose a church.” First, we’re going to talk about what the Church is and how to process your desires for a new church. Next week, we’ll talk about how you actually figure out what a church is like as you visit and how to discern if God is calling you into it. Lastly, we’ll talk through grieving and preparing your heart for something new.
Big Picture: What is the Church?
The Gospel is the Operating System
Churches proclaim the gospel in word and deed. the gospel is not a belief statement but a lens in which all decisions are made and at the center of the church’s culture. Meaning, it’s gracious, forgiving, just, safe, and merciful in how it treats others and in how it speaks. Apostle Paul says this about the gospel:
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.”
Mission of God is its Purpose
Also, the church exists for God’s mission. Every local church is a unique outpost of God’s mission to make himself known and renew all things. God’s renewal of all things isn’t a side project of a church, it is the purpose of its existence. This is evident throughout the New Testament but nowhere more so than in 2 Corinthians 5:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,as though God were making his appeal through us.”
Theologian Christopher Wright summarizes the fullness of the New Testament well:
“It is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world, as that God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission – God’s mission. Our mission is nothing less (or more) than participating with God in this grand story until he brings it to its guaranteed climax.”
Communal Expression
The church is also a community of believers growing in their love for one-another. Every local church is not one of individual consumers but of building in relational dependency on one another.
Paul writes to a local church in Ephesus the imperative to not be friends but be in unity together.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Qualified Leaders
Lastly, every local church as leadership and structure. The New Testament doesn’t offer many explicit instructions on how to structure and organize a church except that each church needs qualified leaders—not necessarily the most skilled leaders. The primary emphasis is on character and how they treat people and the role itself. Secondly, their role is to serve, be known and know the church, and protect the faith. Titus 1:6-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Peter 5:1-3; Acts 20:17-37 are key passages that detail the life internal and external life of qualified leaders.
Practical: Listening to Spirit and Desires
That’s a lot of info. Now, what do I do? How do I find a perfect church described above? Churches are always succeeding at what we’re made to be. Soma hasn’t that’s for sure. But we aspire to it. When you’re looking for a church you want to find one that is genuinely striving for and aspiring to be a church that cultivates community, sends people on mission, and is saturated with the gospel.
Church Shopping?
After that, you’ll find lots of diversity in expressions of the church. Is it now simply a matter of lining up your personal preferences and seeing what you like? Visiting every church and creating a pros and cons list? Thankfully, it’s much more profound than that. It isn’t church shopping as a consumer, it’s listening to the Spirit as a servant.
Eugene Peterson said in multiple interviews and Q&As when asked how people should church shop. He said:
“My usual answer to the question, “how do I pick a church”, was ‘go to the closest church where you live and get involved.’ The church is the most human institution on earth. You aren’t choosing a preaching or music style, you’re investing in people. You have to deal with people as they are. And you’ve got to learn how to love them when they’re not loveable.”
That’s definitely wise advice and a good framework to begin thinking through and remembering. Church is human and it can be as simple as going to the nearest church aspiring to the things above.
Freedom
Before you make a list of churches to visit on Sunday mornings based on google maps and distances, you also need to consider your desires, your gifts, and your calling. Eugene Peterson’s advice is a great starting point but not everything.
Pay attention to the dreams and things that get you excited as you consider a new church. If you’re married, have these conversations together for example:
Do I get excited about being around older Christians?
Do I have a desire for more people in my phase of life?
Do I long to be with people from my work or neighborhood?
Do I want to experience something different in terms of liturgy and tradition?
What might my kids need to grow in experiencing and knowing the gospel?
Alongside desires, there’s also calling and gifts to consider before looking:
How has God gifted me? How might I use those gifts to serve others next?
How do I want to invest? What is the mission God is calling me towards?
What do other people say I’m good at? What have I been encouraged in during my time at Soma and how might that translated to more?
Write down and journal your answers to these questions and discuss them with your friends and spouse. Allow God to speak into this decision before even looking at church websites.
Personal Formation Plans
During this time of transition you’re being made even more responsible for your own discipleship and formation. It’s imperative and highly encouraged that you take time to craft a new personal formation plan over the next month. Use all our tools to do that.