Where Should I Go To Church This Easter

Every year on Easter there is an influx of attendees at any given local church. This is for a number of reasons ranging from family tradition to general moralism. While this is frustrating from a pastoral/shepherding standpoint, this influx gives the church an opportunity to preach the gospel, which is powerful to save, to people that do not regularly hear it. However, most churches squander this opportunity for a chance to entertain the masses with their programs and gimmicks. 

While I do want to write a piece addressed to those non-churches, I wanted to rather write a piece to those people looking to attend somewhere this coming Easter weekend. Instead of begging pastors, who regularly refuse to honor Christ, to now suddenly preach the gospel that they have been neglecting, I want to offer guidance to the “seeker” in regards to where they should be looking to worship.

So, this is for you, non-churched but not anti-church person. I would like to offer a few warnings and encouragements as you pick which gathering you are going to join this Easter.

Good vs Bad Church, How Can I Tell?

The Bible is the Word of God. It is pure, true, and unchanging. It gives us all of the information, both spiritual and logical, that we need to live. In His Word, God gives guidelines and commands on how the church should function from qualifications for leader to the doctrine that should be taught. This means that there is an objective standard for the term Church.

There are good and bad churches. Churches that don’t obey God's Word are bad churches, these are like Sardis and Laodicea, two churches that Jesus writes to in the book of Revelation. These are people that reject obvious truths in the Bible and justify them by their own experiences or by the culture around them. 

If you don’t know, or aren’t familiar with God's Word, you could miss this upon first glance. I know that many people will argue against what I am saying, but I’m hoping that God will use these warnings to protect at least a few from the corrupt churches that would teach the unexpecting attendee to profane God by joining in false worship.

Here are the two most visible characteristics of “bad churches” in our day

• Women Elders/Pastors

• Rainbow flags 

“Churches” that deny God's authority by ordaining a woman to “exercise authority over a man” (1Tim 2:12) should be avoided. If these people are willing to defy God on unmistakably clear commands, then they are ready and willing to defy God's implied truth as well.

It is the same with tolerance of homosexuality. This is a sin, and in its celebration some churches have proved to be those that Paul talks about in Romans 1 “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:32

Avoid these churches this Easter. They have abandoned the truth and are seeking to glorify themselves rather than God. They will feed you with food that does not satisfy; and they will hide the gospel behind niceties and moralistic motivational speeches. You may feel good about yourself after going here, but you will be no better off spiritually.

The Not So Visible Red Flags

I would say most churches, besides the ones we just talked about, take a little bit more attention to discern whether they are a good church or not. Often, God’s Word has implied truths that, though they are not explicitly stated, must be followed. Think of the office of Elder. In the new testament we never get an explicit command to appoint multiple elders as a rule for the church, but look at these texts: 

• Acts 14:23: Paul and Barnabas “appointed elders in every church.”

• Philippians 1:1: Paul greets "all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons". 

• Acts 20:17: Paul summons the elders of Ephesus. 

• Titus 1:5-9: Paul instructs Titus to “appoint elders in every city.” 

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We can determine from context that it is the standard, not the exception, that there should be a plurality of elders leading the local church. Now if you see a church functioning with a single lead pastor and zero accountability from a Biblically qualified group of elders, that should make you leery of that church. 

In the same way, the following red flags are not necessarily deal breakers, but they can be signs that a church is not holding fast to faithfulness. 

Be cautious if a church 

• Has a ridiculous amount of services

This could be a sign of a poor understanding of the Sunday gathering. Most churches with many services view the gathering as an event. Along with this low view of ecclesiology the culture in these churches is usually one where “success” is measured by the number of attendees or baptisms. 

• Sings songs that are more about us than God

A pretty telling red flag is when all the songs that the congregation is taught to sing teach them nothing of God's character. Instead, they highlight general life situations and talk about how God will deliver us from them. (Something that is not promised)

• Doesn’t have elders 

I touched on this already. I will say that there are churches in reform or just churches with small congregations where it is unlikely that they would have a wealth of Godly men to establish as elders. This would be an exception to the rule.

• Has TV-level video and lighting

These churches (typically) are more focused on production and presentation than they are their biblical faithfulness. Churches like Elevation and Hillsong spend millions of dollars on their stage set up, yet have seemingly no money to send their pastors to a proper theological seminary before allowing them to spew their heresies from said stages.

• Does on-demand baptisms

Baptism should never be done outside of genuine repentance and professed understanding of the gospel. This is nearly impossible to confirm on a whim and in the heat of emotions on a Sunday morning. This shows a lack of biblical discipleship on the part of the church and is an irreverent approach to the ordnance.

• Has programs that split the entire family up during worship

Outside of providing care for small children that are unable to attend a whole service, any “children’s church” that encourages parents to send their kids away during the gathering of the Saints serves to undermine the family unit and disorient the Biblical  structure of ecclesiology. 

Again, these are not deal breakers, but keep your eyes peeled if you are looking to go somewhere that has multiple of these attributes. 

“Okay Mr.Critical, Where Should I Go?” 

Glad you asked. There are many marks of a faithful church that you can look for when making your easter plans. Now, because these churches we are talking about are made up of humans, there will always be a number of imperfections you will encounter. BUT. I am writing to help you choose a more faithful option, not to find the perfect church (which doesn’t exist). 

Look for these qualities as you choose where to attend this year. And I mean really look, go to the website, email the pastors, watch past sermons. This is a truly important decision.

Go to a church that

• Preaches through whole texts of scripture rather than cherry picking verses 

• Emphasises the Word of God in every aspect of the service

• Is generally reverent during the service

• Sings theologically rich songs

• Presents your sin as the bleak backdrop for the Gospel to shine from

• Does not shrink from offending the flesh with calls for repentance

• Spends their money on missions and pastoral ministry for the church

If a church is doing these things, they at least have the foundation of a gospel rich ministry. This would be a church that will give you the whole message of Christ and would desire to disciple you, not just fill their pews.

So Where should I go?

HeartCry is a mission organization that does amazing pastoral training work and missions all over the world. They also have a page on their website that can be used as a tool to cut out a little of the legwork in looking for a church. The churches on this list are at least connected with solid gospel ministries and are therefore a good place to start.

If you are local to north western WI or central Missouri I would have a few personal recommendations on where to go that I would be happy to talk with you about.

No matter what, I would encourage you to go more than just this once. Find a “good” church and stick with it, sit under God’s Word and get in real fellowship with God’s people. 

Reach out if you want further clarification on any of the topics I covered. This was a very surface level swipe at a much deeper topic, and I would be more than happy to clarify.

For Christ and His gospel

Noah Burnett