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Decisions >> Church >> Attend Church

Choose a Church to Attend

"One of the greatest benefits of MyDecisionHelper.com is that it can help pastoral and staff Search Committees know the right questions and issues to explore with a candidate. It helps each of the members recognize what it is that they value the most, making the whole process more transparent and objective. It also is tremendously helpful for committee members to organize and properly evaluate the information they are receiving. I am confident that any Search Committee would benefit greatly from using this tool." - Scott Z., Pastoral Candidate, Houston, TX

If you....

  • need to choose a Church...
  • want to minimize the chances of making a mistake....
  • need some help organizing your thoughts...
  • want to be sure that you make the best choice for your Church...
  • need to be able to explain your reasons...

MyDecisionHelper can help you!

We will guide you through the following steps:


Step 1: Discover what is important to you.


Step 2: List your choices.


Step 3: Evaluate each choice.


Step 4: Review the results.


Based on your values and needs, MyDecisionHelper will show you the ranking of each Church being considered.
MyDecisionHelper will highlight your best choice and will let you review and tweak every aspect of the Decision process to ensure you make the best decision possible. MyDecisionHelper provides useful charts and reports to help you understand and explain your decision!

Here are some of the things we'll help you consider:
  • The Worship Experience
  • The Atmosphere and Friendliness of Each Church
  • The Pastoral Staff
  • The Programs and Ministries each Church Offers


When making a decision like this many people use the list below. We will use this list to help you make your Decision. You can modify it to fit your needs or situation.

 Name          Description
Atmosphere and Friendliness Is the Church warm and welcoming with an uplifting spiritual atmosphere? (Consider greeters, welcome center, pastor's greeting, the spiritual atmosphere, visitor follow-up program, etc.)
Spiritual Atmosphere When you walk into the Church building, how does the spiritual atmosphere strike you?
Greeters When you visited, were you met by welcoming greeters who seemed happy to see you?
Welcome Center Does the Church have a clearly visible, central, and staffed welcome or visitor center to provide directions and information?
Pastor’s Greeting Was the pastoral staff happy to have you visit?
Congregational Welcome How welcoming is the congregation?
Visitor Follow-up Does the church have any sort of visitor follow-up program within the first week after a visit?
Facilities How would you rate the Church buildings and grounds? (Consider accessibility, distance from your home, parking, maintenance, grounds keeping, etc.)
Handicapped Accessibility Are the Church facilities handicapped accessible?
Distance from Home Is the Church a convenient distance from your home?
Parking Convenience Can you find a parking place in the church parking lot?
Exterior and Grounds Are the Church exterior and grounds well maintained?
Exterior Signage Does the Church possess adequate exterior signage identifying the Church, its buildings, and where things are?
Interior Signage Does the interior signage help you find your way around the Church? (Consider if you can find the nursery or restrooms easily)
Interior Does the church interior appear to be well maintained?
Restrooms Are the restrooms well-marked, easy to find, clean and operational?
Nursery Staffing Is the Nursery staffed by competent and caring staff?
Nursery Is the Nursery easy to find, bright and cheerful, and in good repair?
Cry Room Does the church have a crying room for babies and Moms where they can still hear the service?
Available Ministries Does the Church offer a wide variety of ministries to its members and the community?
Bible Studies Available Are there a variety of Bible Study opportunities available?
Children and Youth Does the church provide age appropriate ministry to children and youth up through High School?
Vacation Bible School Does the Church offer an appropriate Vacation Bible School program during the summer months?
Sunday School Offerings Does the Church offer age appropriate Sunday School programs for everyone in your family?
Young Adult Ministry Does the Church offer ministry to young college and professional adults?
Special Interests or Needs Ministry Does the Church offer special interest or special needs ministry?
Missions Trips Does the Church offer missions trips for its members?
Outreach Opportunities Does the Church offer outreach ministries to the local community?
Worship Experience How well does the worship you experienced at this Church suit you? (Consider the music, music style, preaching, variety of worship opportunities, etc.)
Style of Music Are you comfortable with the style of music used in worship?
Overall Worship Experience Do you leave worship feeling lifted up and invigorated in your spiritual life?
Variety of Worship Opportunities Are there a variety of worship opportunities?
Preaching Does the preacher help you apply the Scriptures to your daily life?
Theology How comfortable are you with this Church’s theology?
Statement of Faith How well does the Church's statement of faith agree with your beliefs?
View of the Bible’s Inspiration How well does the Church's view of the inspiration of the Scriptures agree with your views?
Use of the Bible Does the Church use the Bible extensively in its educational and training programs?
Gifts of the Holy Spirit How open is the church to the gifts of the Holy Spirit?
Bible Translation in the Pews Does the church promote a specific Bible translation you are comfortable using?
Overall Theology How does the overall theology of the Church fit you?
Promotion of a Specific Social Agenda Does the Church seem to promote a specific social agenda above anything else?
Denominational Affiliation How comfortable are you with this Church’s denominational affiliation and its identification of that affiliation?
Denominational Ownership Does the local church seem “to own” its denominational affiliation?
Comfort Level with the Denomination Will you be comfortable identifying yourself with this Church’s denominational affiliation?
Feedback from Others How do people who know you well react when they learn of your contemplated Church affiliation?
Family Reaction How does your family react to attending this Church?
Friends Reaction How do your friends react to your attending this Church?
Former Spiritual Leaders If appropriate, how do your former spiritual leaders react to the idea of your attending this Church?
Church Governance Is the Church’s governing process and board open and accessible to the congregation with clearly stated expectations and procedures?
Bylaws Does the Church possess clear, up to date bylaws?
Governing Board Selection Process Does the Church’s selection process for Board members engender openness and trust?
Minutes and Financial Records Are the Church Board’s minutes and the Church’s financial reports readily available to the congregation?
Pastoral Staff Does the Pastoral staff seem warm, welcoming and adequate to the tasks of ministry?
Staff Size Is the pastoral staff adequate for the size of the church?
Pastor’s Demeanor Does the pastor make an effort to know people? Does he invite people to get to know him?
Senior Pastor’s Gender Is the Senior Pastor male or female?
Background Checks and Training Are all staff and volunteers required to undergo background checks and receive abuse prevention training?


This site is intended as an informational tool only and should be used in consultation with appropriate professional advisors.



 

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Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1, King James Version

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 King James Version