God set the local church in place to reach the world with His message and He has certain Biblical standards for that church

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JD: Well David let me finally ask you this, what should someone really be looking for when they’re trying to find a good church one that will serve their spiritual needs? Give us a few characteristics of a healthy and a Biblical church.

DJ: Well from the Biblical stand point I’d say go to the church website, look at the doctoral statement, look for both what is said and what is not said because what is not said can sometimes be just as important. So look to see what they say about the Bible, about Jesus Christ, did he die for all men as we would believe he did, that salvation is a free gift that can’t be lost, that the signed gifts we’re ended with the apostolic era and concerning the future, do they believe in an immanent personal return of Christ in the rapture followed by The tribulation and the millennial reign of Christ.

And then when you’re visiting the church are they welcoming to visitors. Just observe how the people interact with one another including how they interact with the pastor and how the pastor interacts with them.

Try to find out how involved they are in missions evangelism and discipleship. Do they support missionaries, do they have programs to disciple new believers as they come into the church. Also, I would look to see if the attendance is steady arising. A steady attendance is just fine but if you have a congregation that is steadily losing attendance and members there’s something wrong there’s a reason they’re losing out.

And another thing I would say and this may seem a little bit counter intuitive but are they financially stable. And the reason I bring that up is the strong giving to the Lord’s work is a sign of the spiritually mature congregation. So that means they are being taught well, not just about finances. In fact out Pastor never mentions finances but he teaches the Bible clearly and people are spiritually mature.

JD: Boy that’s great advice for all of us as we search for a church home some place. Mega church small church, I have to tell you the truth, I really enjoy the smaller church because of the interaction with the people and with the leadership of the church. Would you not agree with that David?  

DJ: Yeah I would agree with that. You know there’s probably a place for all types of churches. I tend to think that it would be better to spin off and plant multiple smaller churches than have a single big large church. And I’m not standing against mega churches but I do have a preference and I think you can function perhaps in a bit more Biblical way in a smaller one.  

JD: David James with a description of a Biblical local church.

We report this information because it is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

You know God’s plan to reach the world with the Gospel is to use a local church. The church must preach the Word of God. God’s Word and His plan for the future are essential in the teaching at a local church. God’s plan for the future is revealed in the prophetic passages in the Bible. These passages will tell us of the soon coming of the rapture an event when Jesus will call us up to be with Him forever more.