A L M A C I A S

JOINING THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE

It is very interesting how we as a society are programmed to do some things in a certain way. What do we do when we are planning to buy a car? We do not just go and buy the first car we see. We think of how we are going to be using that car, and then we try to buy the car which will meet our needs as we use that car. All of this makes sense. If we have a family, we will need a bigger car; but if we are buying a car for just one or two persons, then we might not really need such a big car. When we plan to buy a house, we think of how much space we will be needing, and then we buy accordingly. It does not make any sense to buy a house that is too small or to buy a house that is too big. I can understand why we would try to find that which is most appropriate when it comes to buying these kinds of things, but it seems that people sometimes will try to use this kind of thinking when they look for a place to worship. I have seen signs of advertisement for various churches that say, "Join the church of your choice." Should we be looking for a church the way we would shop for a car or a house?

What do the Scriptures say regarding the subject of joining churches? First of all, we do not find any place where people were told to join the church of their choice. In fact, we do not even find instructions telling us that we are actually the ones who decide whether we should join one church or the another. What the Scriptures say regarding this matter is that the Lord is the one who decides who is allowed to become part of His church. In Acts 2:41,47, we read that when people obeyed the Gospel as given by the Lord, He added them to the church. The church we belong to should be the church of the New Testament, and no other church is acceptable! We become part of the church when we have done or met those conditions found in the Scriptures which will put us in the church.

What some people do to determine whether they should go to one church or the other is ask what that church has to offer. "What do you have for our young people? What do you have for single people, for widowed people, for lonely people? What kind of activities do you have for the family?" The church was never given the responsibility of meeting all of the physical needs of people, but rather it is to be concerned with their spiritual needs. If the church is able to meet your spiritual needs, then the church has met its responsibility. What do we take into consideration when we are looking for a place to worship?