two::newlywed::faith

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we are church shopping. well we think we've settled on a new place of worship, but with something this significant - where we are going to serve and worship, where we are going to hopefully pour our lives and ourselves into for the rest of the time we live in london - we want to take some time to make sure it is right. to give some background, le boy and i met through church sports but we didn't actually attend the same church. and while both of the places we attended were dear to each of us individually, neither place felt right for the other. and so as we were moving toward our wedding day, we were also taking the opportunity to look around at some other churches.

here are some things to think about when looking for a church as newlyweds:

·      location
      where is the church located? are you willing to drive, or do you want to walk? are you hoping to invest in your local community?

      for us, we were clear that we were tired of driving on sunday nights (when we typically go to church) driving into the centre of london on a sunday night can be exhausting and can take over an hour each way. we were done. we also really want to be part of a local church, something that we can walk to, something that will provide opportunities for local friendships.

·      theology
      is the church strong, gospel-based, and theologically sound?


      this can be difficult to figure out quickly but there are some major things that can point to this being the case: the role of prayer, the role of the bible, the quality of the preaching, the involvement of the church in the community - is this a welcoming community that opens it's doors to the local community?

·      programming
      while smaller churches will, of course, be unable to offer an enormous number of courses, programmes and extra events, there should be something going for different groups.


      for us this meant, men's and women's groups, a vibrant sunday school, bible studies, and occasional courses

·      long-term growth
      ideally we aren't changing churches every time our life situation changes. is this a community that we can continue to do life with as our life changes?


      for us this meant is there children's programming, are there courses for marriage and parenting? are there mothers' groups? while we're childless, is there a place for us in the community?

this list is by no means exhaustive, just a some of the things to consider as a newly married couple seeks to find a new place of worship. i'd like to add that it's tremendously important to pray about these things and about a church change with your spouse. further, do not feel pressured to commit to a church before you're ready to do so. christian community is incredibly important for our walks of faith, but the wrong church can be extremely detrimental to a person's walk of faith also.