John 8:31-32 31
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…KJV.
Resilience should be the hallmark of the Christian. The bible says that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4). We as the Body of Christ…we as Christians are commanded to go out into all the world and make disciples of the lost. We are commanded to go out into all the world and preach the gospel. In order to carry out these orders, we’re going to have to go out into hostile territory. The bible says that we are in the world, but we’re not of the world. This world is not our home.
Being willing to walk alone in this life is a challenge that most Christians undertake without factoring in the cause of such an act. The bible calls us peculiar people. We don’t act the way the world acts. We don’t see things the way the world sees things. Neither do we think about things the way the world thinks about things. Our marching orders have been given to us by God through His Word, the Lord Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Church should be a refuge when things in life go wrong. I thank God for all the social services our government provides. Many of us would have been in out on the streets without them. However, I believe that the church should stand head and shoulders above anything that the world has to offer. Your church should be a haven of refuge in a time of need. Particularly if you’re attending a church with thousands of members.
If you’ve lost your job, there should be available resources to connect you with members within your congregation to help you find another. If you have an appliance that breaks down, there should be some sort of broadcast to the congregation concerning your need.
Church Growth is something that should take place organically. Church Growth is the byproduct of the presence of God. Your church should be growing daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. Why would you want to be a part of a church that’s stagnant?
Several times in the bible it says that the Word of the Lord went forth and people were added to the church. Now, if the Word of the Lord is supposedly going forth out of your church, yet people aren’t being added to it, you might want to ask yourself why? I can’t find anywhere in scripture where it says the Word of the Lord went forth and things remained the same.
Racial diversity is rare within most churches. If a good meal is cooked, people will show up. Look at the popular restaurants in your town. People will drive far and wide for good food.
People don’t choose which restaurants they go to because of race. They choose restaurants because of the food. Because of the ambiance, or the wait staff or because of the overall experience. The same is true in the church. If the good Word of God is going forth people will come. People of all races will come.
Political involvement from the church is a fairly new phenomenon. We’re in a day and age when political involvement from the church is imperative on a local, state, and national level.
A Statement of Faith is something that your new church should be able to supply you with. Your church should be able to tell you what their vision is. They should be able to articulate what their mission is. There should be a statement of faith associated with your church
If you’re joining a church and you don’t know what they believe, and they don’t know what they believe it’s an accident waiting to happen. There should be a clear cut vision. A mission statement or a statement of faith.
Characteristics of a good church are depend on many different variables. This one is a biggie.
There seems to be certain topics that the church shy’s away from. Subjects like tithes and offerings, praying in tongues, the gifts of the Spirit and how they manifest, Satan and demonic activity such as demonic oppression and possession, laying hands on the sick and healing in general are rarely talked about in church.