Answers

Q:

We moved to a different part of the country last year, and we've about given up trying to find a church we like. The ones out here are so different from what we're used to—their music, their programs, everything—that we've just stopped going. Are we wrong to feel this way?


A:

Don’t be surprised if the churches you’ve been visiting seem different; after all, I suspect you’ve found other things are different there also. Each part of our vast country has its own character—and we’re a stronger nation for it.

To put it another way, I hope you’ll look past the differences and realize that God isn’t limited to one church or style of worship. As long as God’s Word is preached and taught in a church, God can use it to bring you closer to Himself. Jesus said, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).

Never forget why we should go to church. We don’t go to be entertained or just for social reasons. We go because God wants us to grow spiritually—and one of the ways this happens is through our association with other believers. You need them—and they need you. You need to hear God’s Word, and you also need opportunities to serve Christ. Without contact with other believers, our spiritual lives become stale and barren.

The Bible says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25). Ask God to guide you to the church He has for you—and then ask Him to help you not only to adjust to it, but to grow in your faith through its ministry.