Hey, whatcha doing on Sunday? Brunch with the fam? Spring cleaning? Or maybe you're curious about this church thing and ready to see what it's all about? I hope you are and we at NGEN Radio would love to give you a few pointers to help you find a great church family to call your own.

Church family sounds kind of weird, huh? But it’s not wrong. In the New Testament, Paul calls other believers brothers and sisters over and over again. We are all one big family! We sing together, laugh together, cry together. Sometimes we challenge each other. We help each other grow. You know–a fam!

So here are a few things you can do to help find the right church fam for you.

Ask Someone

Makes sense, right? You know people. They know people. Ask the people you know what they know. Seriously, ask your friends or people you trust about their church. If they’re farther along on their faith journey, that’s even better! And as an added bonus, you will know someone when you go so you don’t have to feel like an awkward weirdo, showing up alone (not that we would care, but I get how you might feel that way).

Google is Your Friend

Every church has an online presence now. They all have websites, most have social media accounts. A lot of them even post sermons online. Read as much as you can about them, look at pictures and see how people are dressed so you don’t go borrow Grandma's church hat when everyone else is come-as-you-are. Read the church’s statement of faith so you know what they believe. Sadly, some places might call themselves churches when they really aren’t. Make sure they know and teach the Bible! Listen to or watch a sermon or two. Make sure the pastor is Biblically faithful. Basically, do your homework!

Give it a Chance

Once you settle on a church to try, go in with the right mindset. Know a couple of things right off the bat. First, we love when people check us out and we're probably going to show it. Those are genuine smiles on our faces! It’s like when you get your nice outfit dry cleaned for the job interview. We know new people are coming and we don’t want to scare them away. Second, that might scare you away! You may be a little freaked out by how friendly we are. It’s ok, we aren’t going to brainwash you and send you back out into the world armed with our agenda. It’s not like that. We are just genuinely glad you joined us to worship God! And finally, stick around, come back, make it a habit. At least for a while. Give us a few weeks and see what happens. Know that when you see us without our makeup on there are going to be some ugly spots. We are sinners, after all. We aren’t perfect either. But we are growing and would love for you to grow with us. Fam, remember?

I’ll leave you with this from the book of Hebrews.

"And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching." - Hebrews 10:24-25