Ask Aunt B

B

Dear Aunt B, I am new to the area. I have always been interested in joining a church. I think this might be the best time ever. How do you pick the right church? There are so many to choose from.

Worship

Where?? Dear Worship Where??, Welcome to the area. I believe you will find this is a great area to be in. Anyway, it probably depends on you. I usually find pretty much whatever people think they will find, they do. So go forward my friend with high hopes and look for the good.

Picking a place of worship is a highly personal journey. If you have met many people in the area, I'm sure you have been invited to someone's church.

I would start with doing a little research. You can research the different denominations on the internet. This will just give you some basics and sometimes they won’t even be right. So just start here, don’t stop here. Also so many churches are now non denominations, so they differ from the traditional denominations that I grew up knowing about. Ask people that you meet if they are involved in a church. Then look up each of those churches online and see if you can find any more information. Look for times of services to see if they meet your schedule. Look for pictures of their services to see if they look interesting to you. There may be information about the type of music that you may find in each church or service. You might also find out if they have children's programs, if that is important. Some churches have drama departments if that interests you. Find out about Bible studies if that is important to you.

Call each and every one of the churches that interest you. Have a list of questions to ask. Remember this is not an end all either. You are only getting one person's understanding of what the church offers. I realize you might think that the person answering the phone should know, but don’t be so sure. Remember you are just gathering information.

Look at the location of each church. Is there one that is closer to you? This can be a positive, especially if you plan on being very involved and going to the church during the week.

The next step is to attend some different services. You could even go to different ser vices of the same church. All of this may seem like overkill, so always remember you do you.

Meet some of the people in the church. Most seem to have small groups that the churches organize, and visit some of them as well.

I should have started with this, but give some thought to what needs you want your church to meet for you and your family. Remember you are looking for a place that will be welcoming and align with your values. Take your time.

Love, Aunt B

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