Find a biblical church

Why you need a church

The New Testament does not treat the church as an optional extra for people who like programs. Believers are members of one body. Christ is the head of that body. He gave pastors and teachers to equip the saints, and He tells His people not to neglect meeting together. The first Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. That is still the ordinary Christian life.

And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.

Colossians 1:18 (BSB)

Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.

1 Corinthians 12:27 (BSB)

And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24–25 (BSB)

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2:42 (BSB)

If you have just trusted Christ, this is one of the first things to do: find a congregation that believes the Bible, preaches Christ, and will walk with you. If you already belong to such a church, stay. Moving is not a spiritual gift.

The Berean standard

The name of this work comes from a small notice in Acts. When the apostle Paul preached in Berea, the people there received the message eagerly — and then opened the Scriptures every day to see whether these things were so. That is how a church should be chosen, and how a church should be tested after you have joined it. A pulpit is not above the Book. A personality is not above the Book. A directory listing is not above the Book.

Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

Acts 17:11 (BSB)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 John 4:1 (BSB)

but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 (BSB)

Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

John 17:17 (BSB)

Everything below is meant to be used that way. Read the verses. Then go hear a church preach, and put what you hear next to the text.

Eight marks of a biblical church

These are not a brand, a denomination, or a personality test. They are things the New Testament treats as ordinary for a church of Jesus Christ. A congregation may be small. The building may be plain. The music may not be what you grew up with. That is not the question. The question is whether this is a people of the Word, under Christ, who will help you follow Him.

1. Scripture is the church’s authority

The church does not sit over the Bible. The Bible sits over the church. All Scripture is God-breathed, and the charge to the preacher is still the same: preach the Word — not the mood of the room, not the appetite of the age.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (BSB)

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

2 Timothy 4:2 (BSB)

2. The gospel is preached as of first importance

A church can be busy, kind, and still lost. What must be of first importance is the gospel: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised. Salvation is by grace through faith — a gift, not a wage.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (BSB)

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (BSB)

3. Christ is confessed as the only Savior

Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other name given to men by which we must be saved. A church that treats Him as one option among many is not preaching the Christ of Scripture.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 14:6 (BSB)

Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12 (BSB)

4. Qualified shepherds watch the flock

Christ gives pastors and teachers to equip the saints. The New Testament is not vague about the kind of men who may hold that work: they must be above reproach, able to teach, not lovers of money, and examples to the flock — not lords over it. Read the full lists in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9. The longer charge in Acts 20:28–30 and the gifts in Ephesians 4:11–16 belong with them.

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

1 Peter 5:2–3 (BSB)

5. The church gathers

The Christian life is lived among the people of God. They meet. They hear the Word. They pray. They break bread. The Lord’s Supper proclaims His death until He comes — see 1 Corinthians 11:23–26. A church that never actually gathers is not doing what the first church did.

Hebrews 10 and Acts 2, quoted above, are the plain texts. Stay with them.

6. The church makes disciples

The risen Lord sent His people to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that He commanded. A church that never speaks of repentance, never baptizes believers, or never teaches the Word to the people it already has, has set the commission down. Read Matthew 28:18–20.

7. Sin is not ignored

Love tells the truth. When a brother sins, the New Testament does not say “pretend.” It says go to him, restore him with gentleness, and — if he will not hear — bring the matter to the church. A congregation that will never deal with unrepentant sin is not safer. It is less honest. Read Matthew 18:15–17.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

Galatians 6:1 (BSB)

8. Teaching is tested

The Bereans examined the Scriptures. John tells the church not to believe every spirit. Paul tells the church to test all things and hold fast to what is good. A healthy church is not offended when you open the Bible during the sermon. That is obedience, not suspicion.

How to spot a counterfeit

The New Testament is not surprised by false teaching. It warns that it will come from inside as well as outside — from men who look like servants of righteousness, who gather hearers to suit their own desires, who introduce heresies in secret, who preach a gospel that is not the gospel. The test is not whether a ministry is large, moving, or sincere. The test is the fruit, and the fruit is measured by the Word.

We will not name teachers or congregations here. Naming is not needed. The marks of a counterfeit are already written down. If a pulpit adds to Christ, subtracts from Christ, or replaces the gospel with another message, leave. If a ministry will not let you test it by Scripture, that is already an answer.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!

Galatians 1:8–9 (BSB)

Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

Matthew 7:15–16 (BSB)

For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

2 Timothy 4:3–4 (BSB)

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

Colossians 2:8 (BSB)

Peter’s longer warning is in 2 Peter 2:1–3. Paul’s charge to the Ephesian elders is in Acts 20:28–30. Read them before you trust a voice that will not be examined.

A checklist before you join

Use this when you visit. Take a notebook. Open the Bible they preach from. Then ask, slowly:

• Do they preach the Scriptures themselves, or mostly the preacher’s stories? (2 Timothy 4:2)
• Can a visitor hear, in plain words, that Christ died for sins and rose again — and that this is a gift received by faith? (1 Corinthians 15:3–4, Ephesians 2:8–9)
• Is Jesus confessed as the only way to the Father? (John 14:6)
• Are the shepherds the kind of men 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 describe — or celebrities the flock cannot question?
• Do they actually gather, pray, and break bread? (Acts 2:42)
• Do they make disciples, baptize, and teach obedience to Christ? (Matthew 28:18–20)
• If a member fell into open sin, would anyone go to him? (Galatians 6:1)
• Would they be glad if you opened the Bible during the sermon to see whether these things were so? (Acts 17:11)

Visit more than once. Hear more than one sermon. Talk to the pastors. Talk to ordinary members. Pray. Then decide.

Church-search directories

These are starting points, not verdicts. Each one is an external site, run by someone else, with its own criteria. A church can appear in a directory and still fail the tests above. A faithful church can be absent from every directory. Use a search to find a door. Use Scripture to decide whether to walk through it. One of the cards below — Grace to You — is a teaching resource, not a locator.

Gold-underline links on this page go into the Berean Life Study Bible. The cards below leave this site.

• The Master’s Seminary — Find a ChurchExternalA locator for churches served by TMS alumni. TMS publishes a statement of purpose for the finder: graduates are known for expository preaching and biblical ministry, and the directory exists because the seminary could not personally endorse congregations it did not know. Read their own FAQ before you treat a listing as a recommendation.
• 9Marks Church SearchExternalA map of congregations that have applied to appear in 9Marks’ Church Search. 9Marks’ own disclaimer: “A church’s appearance in the Church Search tool should not be viewed as an endorsement by 9Marks.”
• Founders Church SearchExternalA search for churches that have listed themselves with Founders Ministries. Founders’ own wording: churches appear voluntarily, have expressed agreement with Founders’ values and the criteria they publish, and “Founders Ministries is not able to evaluate and endorse each church individually.”
• SermonAudio — Local Church FinderExternalA search of churches that host sermon archives on SermonAudio. SermonAudio describes itself as promoting the “Fundamentals of the Faith,” and the listings include recorded preaching you can hear before you visit. A listing is not a substitute for sitting under the Word in person.
• HeartCry Missionary Society — Church FinderExternalA short list of other church-search tools, kept by a missionary society. HeartCry’s own disclaimer: because they are a missionary society they are “unable to personally recommend any churches,” and they “do not personally endorse any of the churches listed on these websites.”
• Grace to You — What to Look for in a ChurchExternalNot a map of congregations. A study on what Scripture says a church should be known for — a help when you evaluate a church you have already found. Grace to You points people who want a locator toward The Master’s Seminary church finder above.