Tired of hopping from church to church? We never thought it would happen to us. We never thought we would be the type of family to hop from church to church, but we found ourselves doing just that until one Easter when a local church did something that drew us to attend. Here’s how to find your permanent home by Easter!

Anyone who has ever chosen to leave a church in search of another already knows far too well scriptures that drive home those feelings of guilt. Like this one, that other believers seem to be quick to quote when they discover you are in limbo about attending church:

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. —Hebrews 10:24-25

When my husband and I got married, we thought we would stay at the church where our wedding was held for the rest of our lives. We had hoped to raise our family there and never leave. However, things changed, and we found ourselves without a church home.

It began when the church we loved started making changes to become more “seeker friendly” and came to a crux when, after a historic flood in our city, we realized other churches were making more of an energetic effort to reach out and help those in need within the community than the one to which we belonged.

After our initial hop to a new church, a large part of our continued hopping from church to church was due to my husband, who is a musician. He desired to have a full or part-time job leading worship at a local church. This took us on an entirely separate adventure that was not free of hurtful experiences, and quite frankly, left us spiritually numb.

Another reason our family had trouble landing at a church was because we desired to fellowship with a church which had a biblically sound children’s ministry. This became far more complicated than we had hoped.

Maybe it’s our overly lofty expectations of what a church family should be that kept us looking for the ideal congregation. I don’t know, but I do know that one day upon arriving home after a walk around the neighborhood, there was a special invitation hanging on our door that answered all of our church hopping questions.

A small group of believers who just wanted to reach out and keep their neighborhood on tract is all it took for us that Easter. It was just a simple little colorful plastic Easter egg with a ribbon and a card attached. The card read: “Come celebrate Easter with us.” The funny thing is that this is all it took. We knew Easter was rapidly approaching, and we didn’t have a home church. So, why not give this one a try?

We attended Easter morning; and to our amazement, everyone was extremely welcoming. So, we came back after Easter as well. After that, we came back again until soon we were calling this new church home.

Don’t wait for your own colorful plastic Easter egg door hangar to make a decision about a church. To stop hopping from church to church and find a church home by Easter:

• Begin with prayer. It’s so easy to get caught up in all of the logistics of what a church has to offer and actually forget to pray about the decision. God is still listening and waiting with answers if we only take the time to ask.
• On a practical note, sit down and make a list of what you want in a church. If you have a family, include everyone’s needs and wants. When you are done with the list, pray over it with your family.
• Church is a representation of Christ’s bride, but we are not yet at the wedding. The Bride of Christ is still making herself ready, and like a bride beautifying herself with curlers and mud packs on her face, the process isn’t always pretty. Remember that no church is going to be perfect. Even though the leadership is hopefully Godly, they are still human and subject to making mistakes. 

What Are Your Thoughts About Church Hopping?

Are you a church hopper? Easter is a good time to stop hopping and make a decision to commit to one group of believers. What would a church need to do to help you feel confident to make it your home church in time for Easter?