by Hansol An

It’s common for collegians to “church shop” during the first part of the school year. They try on one church, then the next, then the next. Presumably this happens until they find one that meets all their needs. To a certain extent that’s understandable. A reasonable amount of research should be conducted to find a church. That’s definitely important; ending up at a bad church can stunt your spiritual growth, lead you astray or worse. But don’t be content to shop indefinitely, looking for the perfect church that meets all your criteria. No church, including Lighthouse Bible Church, is perfect but there are characteristics that a “good” church should have.

A good church should preach the gospel, make disciples and replicate both, often. It should have qualified leadership as defined by the Bible and not human standards. And without a doubt, a good church needs to practice church discipline. These and other qualities were discussed in more detail by Pastor Patrick Cho a few weeks ago in a Sunday Sermon entitled “Commitments of a God-honoring Church – Part 2.”

But often times the exercise turns out to be less about due diligence and more about finding a church that offers the most for the shopper. Deep consideration is given to the style of worship, the friendliness of the people, the relative age of the congregation, the personality of the preacher, the service times, the dating prospects…we could go on and on. The point is: searching for a church can become self-centered. At first, none of these qualities seem like inappropriate considerations but when examined closely these considerations reveal a selfishness that should have no place in a believer or a church. Re-worded into question form one might ask:

• “Do I like the music?”
• “Are the people nice to me?”
• “Can I relate to these people?”
• “Does the preacher keep me engaged and make me laugh?”
• “Is the service at a convenient time?”
• “Will I find someone to love me?”

All of these questions center around self. Christ told us that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people (Matt 22:34-40). Of all the things he commanded of us, those are the two most important! Should they not apply when we are looking for a church? Shouldn’t we be asking “Will this church help me love God and love people?”

It’s already November and hopefully you have found a home here at Lighthouse. If not, what’s the hold up? Maybe LBC isn’t the right fit but you need to find a good church. When you read the Bible, particularly the New Testament, it’s pretty clear to see that the Christian life was not meant to be lived out in a vacuum. How would you practice all the “one another” statements? Hebrews 10:25 tells us that we should not neglect meeting together. Church is the vehicle that God uses to reach a lost and dying world. Don’t stand by on the sidelines. Read their doctrinal statements (that might eliminate some churches real fast). But some churches say all the right things so see if they live it out as well. Then commit to a good church and start investing in the people there. Ironically, in the end you’ll probably get more than you give.

If you want to learn more about what a good (or healthy) church looks like, visit 9marks.org. There you’ll find plenty of helpful resources and information about what to look for in a good church.