Finding a church can feel overwhelming. Where do you even start? How do you know if a church is truly healthy—or just friendly on the surface?

This guide gives you a simple, biblical roadmap for your church search. Whether you’re new to Christianity, moving to a new city, or simply looking for a place to grow, this guide will help you:

✅ Pray with purpose as you seek God’s direction

✅ Identify non-negotiable truths every church must believe and teach

✅ Spot red flags that may signal unhealthy leadership or doctrine

✅ Ask the right questions when visiting a church

✅ Find a place to belong, grow, and serve

You'll Find:

A step-by-step checklist you can use when visiting a new church

Key Scriptures to guide your search and prayer

Clear distinctions between “closed-hand” (must-have) and “open-hand” (preferences) issues

Practical advice on what to look for in preaching, leadership, and community

Why this Matters

God designed us to live in community. The church is not just a building, it’s a family where we can belong, grow in faith, and serve together.

Choosing a church isn’t just about convenience; it’s about finding the place where God will shape your life and use you for His mission.

A Simple Guide to Finding a Healthy Church

Looking for a church can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re new to Christianity or stepping into church life for the first time. The good news: God cares deeply about placing His people in healthy churches where they can grow, serve, and thrive.

A good church is more than friendly people or a nice building.

At its heart, a healthy church treasures the gospel of Jesus Christ, teaches the Bible faithfully, and loves people well. It’s a place where you can belong, be challenged, and be equipped to follow Jesus.

Think of this guide like a map. It won’t make the decision for you, but it will point you toward the most important things: gospel-centered preaching, godly leadership, loving community, and courage to stand firm on God’s Word.

Take your time. Pray for wisdom. Ask questions. And remember, God delights to lead you into a church family where you can know Him more and serve Him with joy.

1) Start With Prayer (Psalm 25:4-9)

Ask the Lord to lead you to a Bible-believing, Jesus-honoring church. Pray for humility, clarity, and courage to follow where He leads.

2) Doctrinal Foundations To Look For

• Bible: Do they affirm the authority and inerrancy of Scripture, and teach it clearly and consistently?
• Christ: Do they confess that Jesus is fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death for our sins, and rose bodily from the dead?
• Eternal Realities: Do they teach heaven, hell, and final judgment as real and biblical?
• Gender/Marriage: Do they uphold two sexes (male and female) and define marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman?
• Red Flag: No statement of faith. Check their website or ask for it directly. If you’re not sure what they believe, ask.

3) Closed-Hand vs. Open-Hand Issues

Closed-hand (non-negotiables):

• The Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• The authority and truthfulness of Scripture
• The virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus
• Salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone
• The reality of heaven and hell

Open-hand (preferences):

• Music style, service length, minor doctrinal differences among orthodox churches, program styles, and other secondary matters.

These can matter to you, but they are not ultimate.

4) Test the Preaching

Faithful to Scripture: Honors context and authorial intent, teaches the whole counsel of God.

Personally Challenging: Calls people to repentance, obedience, and hope in Christ.

Functionally Central: Preaching shapes the church’s life, not entertainment or trends.

You tend to grow where Scripture is treated as the highest authority.

5) Examine Leadership (1 Peter 5:2–4; Mark 9:35)

• Shepherds with Joy: Eager to serve, not greedy or self-promoting.
• Humble and Exemplary: Servant-hearted, not domineering.
• Real Accountability: Plurality of elders or clear leadership structures, financial transparency, and wise decision-making.

6) Look at the People (1 John 3:14; 1 Peter 5:5–7)

• Love Across Lines: Genuine care across race, class, education, and background.
• Warm and Welcoming: Guests are noticed and helped, not just greeted.
• Humble and Honest: A culture that casts anxieties on the Lord.
• Serious Joy: “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor 6:10) shows up in how they worship and walk through hardship.

7) Church Practices

Look for clarity, regularity, and biblical purpose in:

• Baptism
• The Lord’s Supper
• Meaningful Membership
• Loving Church Discipline
• Prayerful, Courageous Decision-Making

8) Cultural Courage and Clarity

A healthy church is unashamed of the Bible’s teaching, including on manhood, womanhood, and sexuality. They speak the truth in love and are willing to stand under cultural pressure without hostility or compromise.

9) Service and Mission (Ephesians 4:12)

Do pastors equip the saints for the work of ministry? Are there clear pathways to serve? Is there a heart for welcoming and reaching non-Christians locally and globally?

10) Geography and Commitment

• Choose a church close enough to attend consistently and serve meaningfully.
• If you are moving, pick the church before the house when possible.
• If there is no faithful church nearby, a provisional house gathering can be a temporary last resort while you seek pastoral covering and long-term solutions.