I was wondering how someone joins a church. Im not a christian and I know virtually nothing about it, but Im wanting to join the church. How does someone go about this?
I started going to a church after a few months of sobriety after a longggggggg break from attending. After I made the choice to be baptized as a Christian I met with the pastor and we talked about why I made this decision, what it meant, and made sure I understood what I was doing. I then gave my testimony to the congregation and was immersed in water a few weeks later. It was a such a special day and my soul is at peace. I love my AA fellowship and I love the fellowship I have at my church as well. It also felt good to define what I understood to be true about God, Jesus and The Bible. My relationship with my Higher Power has never been so clear, so honest and so fulfilling.
Best to you as you continue on your spiritual journey. :)
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I think there's an invisible principle of living...if we believe we're guided through every step of our lives, we are. Its a lovely sight, watching it work.
Do some research first, then pick a church that has what you want. It's like trial and error sometimes, but there are many churches to choose from. Don't get discouraged, though. You'll find a good church, just give it some time. We'll pray for you.
At the local Y, they have a basket on the way out where you can pick up a "thought for the day". I take one each time I am there, 3 - 4x a week. Some of them are proverbs or psalms, some are inspirational sayings or quotes. One that I have gotten goes something like " Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car." If you are thinking of going to church in an effort to find the God of your understanding, I can relate. I have tried many times over the years to do that, to no avail. I always thought there was something wrong with me, I just couldn't believe like I knew others did. I could see it in their eyes, hear it in their voice. I just thought I was a defective, never going to find God. Maybe I didn't deserve to. This was all before AA and recovery were even a blip on my radar screen. Imagine my dismay when I first came into the rooms and saw the steps. I thought, I'm screwed. I've tried to find God and I couldn't. This program is never going to work for me. And it didn't, for the first 6 months or so. I struggled with the idea of God, and looked for Him/Her/It in so many places, except in what has turned out to be the most important one for me. That is within myself. In my heart, my soul, my very being. For myself, I am coming to know that God, my God, has been with me all along. I just didn't see it. It has taken total desperation and hoplessness for me to see it, to begin to believe it. I can't say I'm 100% there yet, but my God is patient, He/She/It will wait for me. I will keep you in prayer that you are able to make the decision that is right for you and follow through on it. It may not turn out to be the way you decide to go, but you'll never know until you try. (((hugs))) Peace
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I asked God for all things that I may enjoy life. He gave me life so that I may enjoy all things.
Undecided?!! Great cause this is a very good example of stuff we might turn over to the God of our understanding. Get into the Big Book and read the 3rd step prayer. Make quiet time so that nothing will come inbetween that conversation between you and HP and then with confidence...say the prayer. Acknowledge that the prayer has been set free and go on with your day. Allow your HP the grace to respond appropriately. Of course make sure you are receptive because that is also your part in it. Let us know how it comes out.
If I could pray and have a release from the fatal disease of alcoholism...getting feedback on any number of religions and their congregations should be a HP snap...course you gotta do your part huh? ((((hugs))))
I was raised Unitarian Universalist. My sponsor is Quaker. Tons of friends in AA go to the Unity Church (almost like an AA church it would seem). There are all kinds of options out there. Good Luck. Focus on going and seeing if you like it before joining. It's not like AA where the message is the same everywhere.
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Keep coming back. It works if you work it. So work it. You're worth it!
I personally don't go to church, my Mom wanted me to go back, so I tried, just wasn't my thing. It just seemed to me that if I had a extra hour, my time was better spent at an AA meeting.
To answer your question, you can just walk in and attend a service, most people try out a number of churches before they decide.
Like Mark above said, I did hear that the Unity Church was pretty neat, and they have concepts similar to AA.
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Rob
"There ain't no Coupe DeVille hiding in the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box."
I looked for God in church when I was a year sober and did the whole catholic chatecism process. It did not help me recovery from Alcoholism. In fact I kept getting sicker anyway.
Once I went through the steps as outlined in the Big Book of AA and reached Step 11, the suggestions in the paragraph on page 89 about religion were helpful. I already had my own God by then, so I could make use of many religions. I use the 6th sense I had developed to discern what felt right in religions according to the God I met in the Big Book who helped me recover.
Today, a lot of religious principles validate what I already feel and know about God and my life, and other things in religion I don't take on. Religion is a helpful thing in addition to AA.
The church I attend simply calls itself a Bible church. Sometimes it reminds me of a Big Book meeting in that we read a section from the Bible and then the Pastor speaks about the topic that was covered. It works for me because there isn't a lot of outside interpretation on what is intended in the writings. They pretty much allow the words to speak for themselves while discussing how these writings from long ago have meaning in our lives now.
Every church is different. I am blessed to have found a good fit for me. There are others I have attended that turn me off completely. The thing I try to remember is that I want a personal relationship with God and I trust my gut on how to obtain that. For me, being a member of my church aids in learning about God and gives me a community of like minded people to share with. :)
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I think there's an invisible principle of living...if we believe we're guided through every step of our lives, we are. Its a lovely sight, watching it work.
I've been contemplating it for a while now and it seems the church could answer some questions for me that I've been asking for a long time, but I basically want to join because I want a relationship with god as good as I can. I dont know much about it but I'd like to join not just for the sake of "going to heaven" or "Going to church" but more for the education of it. I've been involved in AA for a while now and I feel like Im on my feet again, I've cleaned up pretty much all of my mess and I want to lead a good life. I've heard so many things about the church that I dont know what is true and what is false so I can only say I know nothing. I've heard its less strict nowadays and I did visit in 2009 a couple times and I liked it, but I dont know what kind of a commitment it would be. After the last 4 or 5 years in my life I want to stray away from the dark side of things as good as I can but I still dont know if its exactly what Im looking for, I've been on the fence with it for a long time, but I still think it could be a good idea. I like what vixen said about it being of a relationship with god, and as mr david said, I think Ill do some research, I dont wanna jump into anything if its not what I want. Thanks for your posts.
