How to Go to Church for a First Time

Prepare first.

Virtually all Christians and many seekers have found themselves looking for a new church. They had to leave a previous church because they moved to a new place or because that church moved away from their convictions. Or maybe you are traveling and want to take the time to go to a good church service. Or perhaps you want to start going to church because of new faith or seeking faith. And with Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday coming up, maybe you decided this is a good time to start.

Unless one lives far from a sizable town, the choices can be overwhelming. There are so many churches to choose from, but how to find one suitable for you and, more importantly, pleasing to God?

A reader might think it’s not that difficult. See what churches are nearby when you drive around and just go visit one on a Sunday. Well, I did that once. And everything seemed fine until I heard from the pulpit a favorable mention of . . . Kenneth Copeland.

I immediately thought, “Uh oh” as I knew Copeland was a ravenous heretic. If I heard such a thing today, I would immediately walk out, but I was less odious back then. So I thought I would be polite and stay for the rest of the service but not come back. Well, they had a guest preacher who went on and on and on. I both did and did not want to sneak out, but I did even though where I was sitting just about everyone would notice. I could not endure anymore and as politely as I could, got up and walked straight to my pick up and never looked back.

If I did a little preparation and find out that was a Copeland church, I would have spared myself an awkward time and instead would have surely visited a better church.

So at least do a little homework to avoid churches that aren’t a good fit . . . or that are barely churches. Check out their web sites or facebook pages. See if a church might be a good one for you or one to avoid. Here are some cues decoded:

Rainbow flags or pride flags — If you see these anywhere, that church not only affirms sexual deviancy but almost certainly puts wokeness, or whatever the current trendy ideology happens to be, above the authority of the Bible. Avoid.

Led by a woman — If a church has a woman as it’s lead pastor/minister, that is a red flag even if you don’t oppose the ordination of women. In most contexts, a church led by a woman is more likely to be liberal or liberal adjacent. In Penticostal/charismatic contexts, a church led by a woman is more likely to be crazy. Speaking of which . . .

“Spirit-filled” — The church is either charismatic or Pentecostal. Services will certainly be interesting, but perhaps too interesting for many readers. You probably won’t see snake handling or rolling around on the floor although I cannot guarantee that. You probably will hear some gibberish. But you will get to exercise some during the service rather than stayed glued to your seat. You probably won’t get to work out as much as these godly people but you never know.

Traditional — “Traditional” means different things depending on the denomination, but it won’t be “Spirit-filled.” At a traditional Baptist church, you will surely sing “How Great Thou Art” or “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” or other sweet (too sweet for my curmudgeon tastes) 19th century hymns. The preacher may not be slick or fashionable, but he will wear a coat and tie, and, no matter what the topic of the sermon, he will end it with a pleading invitation to “come forward” to get saved or to “rededicate your life.” The hymn “Just as I am” will at that point be sung for about 15 minutes or until someone comes forward. So if you want to get to lunch before the Presbyterians, you better be ready to come forward and rededicate your life or something.

Oh. I nearly forgot. If the Baptists happen to be having a potluck lunch that Sunday, STAY afterward and eat lunch with them. Baptists have the best potlucks. They are quite friendly, too.

Presbyterians usually don’t call themselves “traditional.” But if one does, the service will be formal, restrained, and quiet. No gibberish or “Praise the Lord!” here. If you are an introvert and do not like being manipulated to be happy happy happy or to “come forward,” this might be the service for you. Also, the service will almost certainly end on time. But you probably will need to go out for lunch. Presbyterian potlucks are less frequent and usually not as good as Baptist potlucks.

What “traditional” means in an Anglican context can be a bit tricky. It depends on whether it’s low church or high church or Anglo-Catholic. And usually a parish won’t come out and just tell you on their web site. A low church won’t post “No Popery!” and the AngloCats won’t post “We’re more catholic than the Pope!” I can tell what’s what now. But Anglicanism is a puzzle, and it was a puzzling to me for a couple years at least.

Anyway, low church trad Anglican worship has similarities to Presbyterian worship, but the hymns are better, the liturgy is better, and there will probably be holy communion. The service will probably be a bit longer, but might start earlier — 10am is typical. So you might have a fighting chance to beat the Baptists and Presbyterians to lunch.

High church worship will be more elaborate. And many high church Anglican parishes have excellent organs, which I love to hear. Anglo-Cat worship is even more elaborate and can be downright fun both during and after worship. One of my favorite parishes, St. Joseph Anglican New Braunfels, has a lot of both fun and reverence with the traditions of the church year. I especially recommend it and high church/Anglo-Cat Anglican churches in general for Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter.

Something almost all trad Anglican churches have in common is quality control. Traditional liturgy provides guardrails that keeps worship in line even if the priest might not be the best. That may seem a trivial thing to some, but go to enough bad services, and you will appreciate that.

But on food after the service, I can’t help you. Some Anglican parishes have quite a spread on Sundays; others do not.

Well, I spent some time on what it means when a church promotes describes itself as “traditional.” I did so because I think a traditional church is usually to be preferred but means different things in different contexts.

Moving to something not traditional…

If “Church” is not in the name of the church, the service will not be traditional. Most likely, the service will be geared to make people happy or entertained. It will be “seeker sensitive.” It might be overamplified, too. If you like quiet reverence, go elsewhere.

Sorry if I seem negative. I know God uses such churches. And this might be your thing. I know many are more comfortable with happy clappy “contemporary worship” and seeker sensitive services than with traditional worship. I’m just letting you know.

One possible plus is that many churches with “church” not in their name are big. So there will be probably lots of programs for all sorts of people. Also if you’d rather be lost in the crowd and somewhat anonymous when you visit a church, a large church might appeal to you.

Well, these are enough tips for now. Many first time or infrequent churchgoers first go on Easter Sunday or Palm Sunday. So I hope to post a helpful guide on that someday. But my schedule is a bit crazy at the moment, so that will probably have to wait. So in case I cannot post, my best advice for those Sundays is, as always, get there early!

Also, I know the Anglican church scene better than most. So if you want me to look for an Anglican congregation for you, just let me know.

(And apologies that I did not get around to directly addressing Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches. I am probably not the best source on visiting those anyway. I do think most Roman churches are to be avoided now, thanks to Francis.)