Finding the Right Church

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

I just got off the phone with a former church member of mine who now lives in another state, and who is struggling with finding a solid biblical church. And so, of course, a topic of our conversation was what does a solid biblical church look like? When looking for a new church or if you are wondering if you are currently attending a solid biblical church, what are the marks we should look for? Between being active-duty military for a time and moving off to seminary, first in Canada, then in the United States, my wife and I have moved around quite a bit during our 33 years of marriage (eighteen moves, four states, and two countries). Many of which required looking for a new church to join in membership. So what do I look for in a church? What constitutes a solid biblical church? —eight key features.

First, look for a church which has a high view of scripture. Not just a church whose confession of faith espouses belief in the inerrancy of God’s Word, but a church which takes seriously every word of God’s Word. Find a church where the pastors/elders are constantly going to Scripture to determine if this is something that can be done? Does the Bible permit us to implement this sort of ministry or program? Is this a biblical approach? Many churches who claim to have a high view of scripture will often just do things they think will work to draw people in or will make the church members happy. One of the most contentious disagreements I once had with my elders at a former church was when they wanted to implement a teen youth ministry. When I asked where in the Bible do we see teen youth ministries discussed or where in the Bible do we find the office of “youth minister,” they looked at me as though I had worms crawling out of my ears.
 
Second, Reformed theology. No church can truly be a solid biblical church without standing in the tradition of those who brought about the Protestant Reformation and fought to recover the Gospel (ca. 1517-1600 AD). Reformed theology can be summed up by the following points: (1) ascribing to and teaching the complete sovereignty of God over all things, i.e., God has foreordained all things and all events from eternity past (Is. 46:8-11; Dan. 4:34-35; Rom. 9:9-13; Eph. 1:11). (2) All humans are born in sin with a nature wholly corrupted by sin, which has been inherited from our original parents, Adam and Eve, which renders them utterly incapable of doing anything to save themselves (Rom. 3:11-18; 5:12-14; 2 Cor. 4:3-4; Eph. 2:1, 5). (3) God has chosen to save some out of the world, not because of anything good seen in them, but simply because God is rich in mercy and grace (Eph. 1:4; James 2:5; 1 Cor. 1:27-29). (4) Christ died on the cross to pay for the sins of his people, his church, his bride, his sheep (Jn. 10:11, 13; Heb. 9:12). (5) Those for whom Christ died will come to him and will most definitely be saved (Jn. 6:37-40). (6) Those whom the Holy Spirit irresistibly draws to Christ can never lose their salvation (Phil. 1:6; Jn. 10:27-29). (7) Justification before God is by faith alone in Christ alone and is grounded upon the imputed righteousness of Christ alone (Rom. 4:1-8; Gal. 2:15-16; Phil. 3:8-9). (8) God has and is moving redemptive history forward by means of covenants (Gen. 8-9; 15; Exod. 20; 1 Sam. 7; Jer. 31; Heb. 8).
 
Third, a high view of preaching. Too many pulpits are filled with too many pastors delivering too many sermons that sound like TED talks rather than the unmitigated Word of God which pierces “to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). And this is not just happening in liberal/Arminian type churches. There are too many milksops filling pulpits in supposedly “Reformed” churches who will only preach the safe topics for fear of losing their job. They will preach what they know their people will reasonably tolerate. They will soft-pedal the topic of abortion. They will preach the biblical roles of men and women in such a way that both the career mom who chooses to work to sustain their current lifestyle and the stay-at-home mom thinks the pastor agrees with them. But the primary duty of the preaching pastor is to preach the “whole counsel of God” regardless of how it lands on people (Acts 20:26-27; 2 Tim. 4:1-5). For the pastor to preach only what he knows his people will reasonably tolerate is nothing short of ministerial maleficence because it demonstrates that he is more concerned with keeping his job or with making the people happy than with presenting God to the people in all his fullness and glory.
 
Fourth, a biblical view and practice of church worship. This means conducting church worship in a way which only God prescribes. Regarding worship in the OT, God commanded his people, making clear, they “shall not add to it or take from it” (Deut. 12:29-32). And the apostle Paul instructed the NT church that when it comes to church worship “not to go beyond what is written” in Scripture (1 Cor. 4:6). Regarding church worship, a biblical church will only do that which God commands. This includes and is limited to the pure preaching of God’s Word (2 Tim 4:1-5), the public reading of Scripture (1 Tim. 4:13), the offering of public prayers (1 Tim. 2:1-4), the singing of hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), the collections of tithes and offerings (1 Cor. 16:1-4), and weekly participation in the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:18, 20, 23-26). Anything beyond this or less than this is unbiblical. But to this we must also include having a high and reverent view of what it means to enter the presence of our King on the Lord’s Day, not munching on donuts, drinking coffee, and wearing flip-flops and tank-tops, but understanding and appreciating the sacred privilege it is to gather with the saints and worship the King (1 Tim. 3:14-15). We should also include using reverent and Christ-centered worship music. Church worship is not about us. It is not about making us feel good. Church worship is about exalting and magnifying the glory and magnificence of Christ—not entertainment.[i]
 
Fifth, biblical eldership. By biblical eldership is meant qualitative, not quantitative. The quality of an elder or elders is far more important than the quantity of elders (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). It is far better to have one qualified elder than to have plural unqualified elders. While plural eldership is biblical and ideal, when a church feels the pressure of having plural elders, they can sometimes end up appointing milksops into that role which will turn out to be a tragic mistake. A biblical church is one that will have one or plural elders who truly care about the spiritual wellbeing of the sheep and who truly want to see the sheep taught the “whole counsel of God.” Qualified elders will see their role as being assistants to the preaching pastor to help him become better at what he does because they know this is what will ultimately benefit the church and will seek to truly care for the sheep. Unqualified elders will often see their role as simply being the hammer, waiting for the preaching pastor to make a mistake so they can nail him.
 
Sixth, a biblical understanding of the roles of men and women. The family is the smallest unit of government within any society and is the smallest congregation within any given church. Within the family, the husband and father is the Head of State and Shepherd of the Flock. He is the one given the responsibility by God to govern, provide for, and shepherd the family (Eph. 5:25-6:4; 1 Pet. 3:7). The wife and mother is to act as assistant to her husband, primarily by caring for him, the children, and the home thus freeing up his time to carry out his God-given responsibilities (Eph. 5:22-24; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Pet. 3:1-6), which should include not just working and providing a living for the family, but reading and studying God’s word, spending time in prayer, and “being examples to the flock”—his family (1 Pet. 5:3). According to Scripture, within the church, within the family, and within society men lead and women follow. This means that within the church, including co-ed Bible studies organized by the church, only qualified men should lead in prayer, preach, teach, and read Scripture, and be in positions of authority. If this is not made clear within a local church and embraced by her members, then chaos will reign within the family, which will reverberate through the church, which will result in a very unhealthy church.
 
Seventh, a biblical view of ministering to children. There is no place in Scripture we can turn to in order to gain a better understanding of the modern concept of youth ministry or the office of Youth Minister. This is the idea that a person, or sometimes a couple, is appointed to be the youth minister to whom all the parents in the church will bring their children and allow him or her to teach the children the things of God. Youth ministries (in their current form) did not come into existence until the 20th century. I believe this largely had to do with both parents taking on full-time jobs and so neither one had the time to minister to their children. Hence, churches invented the concept of youth ministry and the church position of youth minister because parents abdicated their God-given responsibilities of ministering God’s Word to their children. Prior to the 20th century, fathers would consistently lead their families in daily family worship in the home and if the church did engage in direct ministry to the children, it was in the form of male elders catechizing the children on Sunday morning before church. The responsibility of ministering God’s Word to the children within the church primarily lies with the father and, to a lesser degree, with the mother (Eph. 6:4; Prov. 1:8). A biblical church will encourage fathers to conduct daily family worship within their homes and will not allow parents to place the onus on the church to teach God’s Word to their children.
 
Eighth, church membership. Any church which does not have a formal church membership is simply not a biblical church. Like the Trinity, while we do not find the term “church membership” specifically stated in Scripture, the biblical concept can clearly be deduced from it. The word church from the Greek (ekklesia) does not refer to a building or a structure, but to those who have been called out from the world by God to be his own (ek = out, kaleō = to call). The NT church did not meet in one location but were a collection of small groups meeting in different homes throughout the city, but together they were the church of that city--the called-out ones. Thus, when Paul instructs the church in Corinth to put someone outside the church for sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5), he did not have in mind a building or even a formal organization, but to treat him as not being one of the called-out-ones. Hence, there had to be a way for the early church to identify who was a part of the called-out-ones and who was not (1 Cor. 14:23-25). Whatever method they used, there was a way of determining who was in the church and who was outside the church. Church membership is important for knowing who is accountable to whom, who can be trusted, and who can do the ministering and who can’t. Without formal church membership, Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 18:15-20 become impossible to implement.
 
When looking for a biblical church or when striving to become a biblical church, these are the marks one should look for and strive for.

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[i] For more detailed information on this topic, refer to my book In the King’s Presence: How Christ’s Royal Majesty Enriches Corporate Worship (2025). Available on Amazon.com.