Picking a church

i’m 53 years old…for a few more days.  i haven’t called very many church families “my” church family through the years.  i spent my first 21 years (give or take a few blips on the radar) at my home church, first christian church of national city, california.  good ole nasty city.  after wanda and i got married…another story, another time…we moved a couple of hours north for a job and joined another church family for about five years, before i became the youth minister at first christian of huntington beach, california.

we stayed there from 1980-1990 and then joined a team of people who got together to start a church in the inner city of east san diego.  four years later, we hitched up the wagon, sold most of what we had, strapped our two little boys and the cat on top of the truck and made our journey to texas.  for the past 13 years, north point has been our home.

only once in our lives have we been church “shoppers”.  we have never been church “hoppers”.  each of the five churches that we have called home have been where we dug in, gave our money, invested our time and heart, and built lasting and meaningful friendships centered around a common commitment to the kingdom of god.

after all these years, here are the questions that i think need to be answered before you call a church home:

1. does the church faithfully tell people about jesus?

2. does the church teach you how to study the bible for yourself?

3. does the church fit your personality?

4. is there a place to serve and use your gifts?

what questions would you add?

#churchlife #pastor