There are all sorts of communions and groups that call themselves a “church” these days. Anyone with a building and marquee can slap the label “church” on their door. But how do we know if a group that calls themselves a “church” is being biblical or not?

Knowing what to look for in a church is important. When you’re on vacation, you need to know how to find a good church to worship in on Sundays. And at Zion, we want to be both biblical and easily recognizable for others who are looking for a biblical church. Alistair Begg, pastor of Parkside Church and founder of Truth for Life Ministries, lays out what Scripture says a biblical church ought to look like. As you read, prayerfully consider how God may be urging Zion to go in a more biblically faithful direction, and how you can be on the lookout for “good” churches.

Finding A Good Church

by Alistair Begg

“Where should I go to church?” New believers seeking a church home, longtime Christians relocating to an unfamiliar place—and even those well entrenched in a particular church—must face this question head-on. The decision is perplexing because so much of what passes for “church” today isn’t really church, at least not as the New Testament presents it to us. If you are seeking a church home, the only place to discover what really matters is in the Bible. Acts 2:42-47 offers us a blueprint for church life:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (NIV).

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching”

The first thing we discover about this early church is a commitment to the teaching of the apostles. Today we have this very same teaching in the Bible. Nothing is as important as this—not a large congregation, a witty pastor or tangible experiences of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is God’s supreme instrument for renewing His people in the image of Jesus. The entire Book of Acts is full of the centrality of preaching. Continue reading “Finding a Good Church”…