For those of you who have come to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior by faith alone through HeavenBeckons.com, I, Dick Wulf, have a few things for you to keep in mind in searching for a church.
I also have some suggestions for those of you who already attend a church.
If You Have No Church
Finding a church to help you change your spirit to live for Jesus and glorify God as you are being taught in the Getting Ready to Go Home to Heaven curriculum might be difficult. Churches spend a lot of time teaching the Bible, but too many of them spend very little time on application. And when they do, they are talking all too often of individual application, not Bible obedience in Christian friendship groups, Christian families and Christian marriages where "faith together" has much power to serve God and significantly change Christians into the image of Jesus.
The kind of church you want in your life is one that recognizes the power of "faith together". Presently, the primary indication that a church will encourage you and other believers to walk with Jesus together will be that they have small groups where group members actively participate in helping one another put into their lives what they are studying in the Bible so that everyone consistently lives for God. As you are or will be learning, knowledge only goes a little way in changing you into the image of Jesus, but Christian relationships guided by Scripture can greatly transform you to be like Jesus deep down in your spirit (not just your mind).
In short, you should go to a church and recognize some agreement with what you have been learning and applying in the Getting Ready to Go Home to Heaven curriculum – that biblical obedience in your Christian friendships, and if you have, your Christian family and Christian marriage, is a powerful tool in God’s hands to transform you into the image of Jesus Christ.
I also have some suggestions for those of you who already attend a church.
If You Have No Church
Finding a church to help you change your spirit to live for Jesus and glorify God as you are being taught in the Getting Ready to Go Home to Heaven curriculum might be difficult. Churches spend a lot of time teaching the Bible, but too many of them spend very little time on application. And when they do, they are talking all too often of individual application, not Bible obedience in Christian friendship groups, Christian families and Christian marriages where "faith together" has much power to serve God and significantly change Christians into the image of Jesus.
The kind of church you want in your life is one that recognizes the power of "faith together". Presently, the primary indication that a church will encourage you and other believers to walk with Jesus together will be that they have small groups where group members actively participate in helping one another put into their lives what they are studying in the Bible so that everyone consistently lives for God. As you are or will be learning, knowledge only goes a little way in changing you into the image of Jesus, but Christian relationships guided by Scripture can greatly transform you to be like Jesus deep down in your spirit (not just your mind).
In short, you should go to a church and recognize some agreement with what you have been learning and applying in the Getting Ready to Go Home to Heaven curriculum – that biblical obedience in your Christian friendships, and if you have, your Christian family and Christian marriage, is a powerful tool in God’s hands to transform you into the image of Jesus Christ.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, ...
Rom 8:29a
Rom 8:29a
Being like Jesus is our way to glorify God as much as we can through reflecting aspects of His character back to Himself.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory
and the exact representation of his being.
Hebrews 1:3a
and the exact representation of his being.
Hebrews 1:3a
Therefore, try to find a church that teaches how to become more like Jesus, especially by being accelerated in your transformation to be more like Jesus through the interactions of your Christian friendships, and if you have, your Christian family and Christian marriage.
Since getting ready to glorify God and have the best possible life in heaven all centers around letting God transform you into Christlikeness, it is best to find a church where people mention Jesus more than they talk about their church. The church is important, but it is Jesus we are to constantly consider.
Since getting ready to glorify God and have the best possible life in heaven all centers around letting God transform you into Christlikeness, it is best to find a church where people mention Jesus more than they talk about their church. The church is important, but it is Jesus we are to constantly consider.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith, . . .
Heb 12:2a
the author and perfecter of our faith, . . .
Heb 12:2a
If you arrived at HeavenBeckons.com through a “promotion card” (business card) given by a friend or relative, they might have acquired that promotion card from their church. If so, that church might be a good one to try.
If you have Christian friends, ask them if the sermons at their church teach how to live the Christian life, rather than just doctrine. Or you can call or visit a number of churches to find one that is friendly and regular people are interested in you (not just staff people or people leading church programs and/or functions). In other words, does a person in the pew show interest in you? Better yet, are normal people you meet in the church pew interested in your spiritual life?
It is probably best to ask friends if their church (or ask churches directly) if they believe all of the basic truths contained in the Apostle's Creed. Christianity is well-rooted in history, and the Apostles's Creed is solid and been used to define the essentials of the faith for hundreds of years.
If you have Christian friends, ask them if the sermons at their church teach how to live the Christian life, rather than just doctrine. Or you can call or visit a number of churches to find one that is friendly and regular people are interested in you (not just staff people or people leading church programs and/or functions). In other words, does a person in the pew show interest in you? Better yet, are normal people you meet in the church pew interested in your spiritual life?
It is probably best to ask friends if their church (or ask churches directly) if they believe all of the basic truths contained in the Apostle's Creed. Christianity is well-rooted in history, and the Apostles's Creed is solid and been used to define the essentials of the faith for hundreds of years.
The Apostle's Creed
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I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy catholic [this means “universal”] Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.
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If Going to an Organized Church Does Not Appeal to You
The ministry called “Luke 10 Community” has existed for ten years and may be the answer for you. It is found at https://lk10.com and is run by John White, a friend of mine for over 30 years, and his associate Kent Smith. They have years of experience helping people set up house churches and small groups.
The stated mission of the Luke 10 Community is “to fulfill the Great Commission by seeing a vibrant family of Jesus (house church, small group, etc.) in easy access of every person in every region and people group on earth.” To date they have trained over 5,000 people in 12 countries (this includes house churches and small groups in institutional churches). They have two online courses for you to get up and running your own little house church or small group with a few friends and/or family members. These two courses help those in the house church or small group to learn to listen to their own hearts (yours and the others) and listen to Jesus’ heart. The first course is called “Church 101" and the second “Leader 101".
If You Love Your Church but Its Small Groups
are Primarily Bible Studies with Changing Membership
Don’t be concerned about this at all if you have a good Christian Inner Circle where you can work diligently at the Getting Ready to Go Home to Heaven spiritual disciplines of faith together. Enjoy your church, just invest spiritually in your Christian friendships, and, if you have, your Christian family and Christian marriage.
If you do not have much of a Christian Inner Circle, then use the Luke 10 Community training courses to establish a small group in your church, or one that is not a part of your church programs. (See information on the Luke 10 Community above.)
The ministry called “Luke 10 Community” has existed for ten years and may be the answer for you. It is found at https://lk10.com and is run by John White, a friend of mine for over 30 years, and his associate Kent Smith. They have years of experience helping people set up house churches and small groups.
The stated mission of the Luke 10 Community is “to fulfill the Great Commission by seeing a vibrant family of Jesus (house church, small group, etc.) in easy access of every person in every region and people group on earth.” To date they have trained over 5,000 people in 12 countries (this includes house churches and small groups in institutional churches). They have two online courses for you to get up and running your own little house church or small group with a few friends and/or family members. These two courses help those in the house church or small group to learn to listen to their own hearts (yours and the others) and listen to Jesus’ heart. The first course is called “Church 101" and the second “Leader 101".
If You Love Your Church but Its Small Groups
are Primarily Bible Studies with Changing Membership
Don’t be concerned about this at all if you have a good Christian Inner Circle where you can work diligently at the Getting Ready to Go Home to Heaven spiritual disciplines of faith together. Enjoy your church, just invest spiritually in your Christian friendships, and, if you have, your Christian family and Christian marriage.
If you do not have much of a Christian Inner Circle, then use the Luke 10 Community training courses to establish a small group in your church, or one that is not a part of your church programs. (See information on the Luke 10 Community above.)