Hopefully you saw where I previously wrote about what NOT to look for in a new church.  On a more positive note, here’s my take on what you should be looking for in a new church.

(As an aside, I don’t really recommend looking for a new church at all, not unless you absolutely have to.  In our case, my wife and I moved six hours away to another state.  So having to look for a new church was pretty much inevitable. If you do find yourself wanting to leave a church for less important reasons, I recommend that you take a look at Josh Harris’, Stop Dating the Church.  Click through the link directly below to get your copy for only 10 bucks.)

Here are five things that you should look for in a church:

1. God-centeredness (Rom. 11:36)
   Keep your eyes and ears open as you begin to take everything in during your initial visit(s).  Being a guest at a new church can be a bit intimidating. What you should be looking and listening for is the presence of a clearly articulated and unashamed God-centered mindset.  Listen to the way people are talking.  Notice the approach church members take as they greet you (…or neglect to greet you, which unfortunately may be the case).  Try to hear the heart of the pastor as he delivers his message.  What is the reason these people are meeting?  Is it a social club?  Is it merely the routine actualization of religious tradition steeped within a community’s cultural lifeblood?  Or is it God that’s really on their hearts and minds?
   
   Ask yourself, “Is God a subject or is He a person to these people?”  Try and answer that question while you’re there.  For far too many churches, it would seem, God is reduced to a reason they meet together on Sundays when He should be the Person they meet together on Sundays.  The difference is usually to be found in the contrast between a mindset of man-centered thinking vs. one of God-centered thinking.  Make sure the church you choose falls into the latter.
2. Inter-generational Make-up (Titus 2:1-10)
   Any church that wants to achieve a healthy balance  between the wisdom that often comes with experience and the zeal that is common in youthfulness had better strive to be a church for all ages.  From infants to the elderly, toddlers to retirees, churches need to experience faith being lived out across all stages of life.
   
   Here are some helpful indicators of an inter-generational congregation: present in the same room will be objects that represent both ends and, by default, the in-between’s of the entire age spectrum.  Look for such extremes as strollers for little babies and walkers for the disabled, heelies for the middle-schooler’s and wheelchairs for the old-schooler’s, braces for the teenagers’s crooked teeth and dentures for the seniors’ missing teeth.  If a church has grown too old in its membership, then it may be over the hill and on the way down.  If it’s all bright eyed and bushy-tailed youngsters runnin’ the place, then watch out because inexperience is bound to make some major mistakes.
3. Culturally diverse (Gal. 3:26-29)
   Look for a church that has an active membership comprised of people from all walks of life.  The gospel is a message that rings true for all who hear and believe it, regardless of their color, shape, size, income, or musical taste.  It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, well-educated or ignorant, conservative or liberal—God is no respecter of persons and the the membership of any given local body should reflect that.  A church that welcomes and embraces diversity exemplifies the unifying truth of the gospel in a way that churches consisting of people who are all alike cannot.
   
   Churches with a culturally diverse membership are better suited to reveal the universal nature of the gospel’s truth as well as the exclusivistic nature of it’s claims.  Jesus at one and the same time makes the universal declaration that He is the way, the truth, and the life, while insisting rather exlusivistically that no one comes to the Father unless it’s through Him (John 14:6).  This challenging message is one that should breed a church body that finds itself stocked with people having come from all sorts of worldview backgrounds.  The Christian message is not just true for Christians and Christians alone.  It is true for everyone—because it is truth.  The people coming to faith and joining our churches should reflect this.
4. Thoroughly evangelistic (Matt. 28:18-20)
   Truthful, obedient to Scripture,  friendly, comfortable in their own skin, high on sincerity, low on pretense—that’s the kind of church that reaches out to others.  That’s the kind of church I want to be a part of.  Evangelism is not a program.  Neither is it a once-a-year short-term mission trip.  More than anything else its a way of life.  It’s a relationship with Jesus Christ that naturally feels its way into every part of an individual’s life—the home, the workplace, the relationships, the conversations.  That’s where evangelism takes place.  Look for a church with those kinds of individuals and that kind of evangelism.   That’s where you want to be.
   
   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that evangelistic programs are bad.   I think that parishioners need to be trained and educated and well-equipped to share their faiths.  I do think, however, that overtly canned presentations and stomach-wrenching nerves don’t make for the perfect gospel-sharing combination.  The long term fruit of regeneration and successful evangelism within the life of a church will not have a name and a logo.  Like I said before, it’s a way of life, and it’s one that every Christian in every church is commanded to life.
5. Intellectually stimulating (Prov. 16:20; I Pet. 3:15)
   The sermons, the SS lessons, the praise and worship songs, the Bible studies, the bulletin articles—each of these avenues for worship and Bible-teaching ought to be providing the church with an unabashed opportunity to feed deeply off of the rich nutrients found within the fertile soils of God’s Word.  All too often, though, the sad spectacle to be observed on the average Sunday morning in the average Christian church is that of people hearing nice little sermons with nice little points given by nice little preachers with nice little conclusions.  It’s not that they can’t handle intellectually rigorous sermons.  Many of these churches are full of students who’ve spent their week learning difficult things at school while their parents have toiled endlessly with laborious, mentally-demanding careers in professional settings.  Why then can we not expect to have similar cognitive rigor when we sit at the feet of God’s Word and hear it’s great truths proclaimed?
   
   Look for a church that takes God’s Word seriously enough to give it honest mental effort.  The Bible is filled to its brim with gut-wrenching, fist-clenching truth that’s just waiting to be drawn out by the hard work of a faithful preacher’s exposition.  Don’t settle for anything less than that which requires your utmost attention because that’s precisely what the gospel deserves.

These five things are not at all only things that you should look for in a church, they’re just the first solid five that I could think of.  What are some other things that we need to look for during our search for a new place to worship?  Any feedback would be appreciated.