The church is not the building itself. It is Christian brothers and sisters having fellowship together. That is what the true church of God is. You need to go to church because of this fellowship.
24 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”- Hebrews 10:24-25
There are important things that you need to take into consideration before you join a church. Start with prayer. Ask God because he knows best. Don’t feel anxious or worried about finding the right church. Just take it step by step with God and don’t be anxious.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” – Philippians 4:6
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Don’t carry this on yourself. Give it to God because he knows everything. He knows the churches, the preachers, the people, and he knows exactly where you are at in your spiritual growth. Join a church that puts God and His Word first especially if you are a young Christian.
“And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.” – Isaiah 4:6
A lot of young Christians believe and say certain things that are not found in Scripture. They are so easily misled by false teachers because they do not know God’s Word.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” – 1 Timothy 4:1
It is disturbing that many churches have moved away from the Bible in the last few decades. You have these lukewarm churches that’s not really a church at all. One of the biggest reasons for this is because in the universities today we have professors that are liberal, that are not believers. They are a little bit religious but think that the Bible is just nice stories. All of it is not truth it’s not God’s inspired, inerrant word. They teach what they think to young students and then these students when they graduate, go into the churches and then they preach without the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” – Matthew 7:15
1”But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.2And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” – 2 Peter 2:1-2
False teachers mix truth and lies together and then they present it to people and then even if its mostly truth, people accept it because they don’t know the Word of God. These false teachers as bring spiritual death into the church. They bring in another gospel that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ and many young Christians fall for their lies.
The best thing that you can do no matter the church that you go to is to read and study the Word of God for yourself. Get to know it, absorb it, take it in into your heart, your soul, your mind and live from it. If a pastor or even a Christian brother or sister say something, don’t assume that it’s true, compare it with scripture to see if it is true.
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” – Acts 17:11
Find a church that truly puts God’s Word first over just preaching what people want to hear. You don’t want to be in a church that preaches to itching ears like because they don’t then preach the whole truth of God in a balanced way or you have pastors that over emphasize certain truths at the cost of others. You can’t do that because then you have a skewed idea of God’s Word. You need to fully understand who God is, who you are in Christ, your identity to understand God’s plan, and how everything works together. You cannot preach only the good things that people want to hear like grace and love. You must also preach God’s righteousness and holiness.
”Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” – Philippians 2:4
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2
If you go to church, you can’t be selfish and just think about yourself. You need to think about other people, about your brothers and sisters, to help them, to support them, to encourage them, to edify them. But also, to go to unbelievers and share the gospel do. Bring value to other people and share the light of Christ.
“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” – Romans 15:1 If you are spiritually mature, God might lead you to a church you might not like at first but He wants you there to bring change and to help people stay on the right path. You need to pray and ask God to lead you.