Find a Church

University is a time when many Christians grow quickly and really mature in their relationship with Jesus Christ and their understanding of God’s truth. Sadly, it can also be a time when Christians ‘backslide’, as pressures to conform socially, especially with regard to sex and alcohol, and the pressures of academic success and heavy workloads can make life hard. One of the most important ways of guarding against this is to get involved as soon as possible with a local church. The guys in your college group all go to churches and will be more than happy to help you choose one to go to yourself. Here are some other pointers to get you thinking about what church to go for.

We need to be choosing a church that is…

Committed to the Good News about Jesus Christ.

In other words, a church which bases everything it does on the core truths of the Christian faith as set out in the Bible. Paul writes to Timothy, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching with faith and love in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13). We need to attend a church which is committed to the gospel and to obeying all Biblical teaching – a church which teaches salvation by grace through faith in Christ’s death alone and which holds the Bible as the final authority on everything it teaches and does.

Committed to teaching the Bible faithfully.

Paul tells Timothy that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If we want to grow as Christians we need to be hearing the Bible taught regularly. Going to a church where the Bible sets the agenda for everything that the church does and where the speaker clearly explains what the text itself means and how it applies today is an invaluable help in the Christian life.

Committed to spreading the Gospel.

Paul instructs Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5). Evangelism, sharing the gospel with non-Christians, must be a priority for a church. We need to look for an outward-focused church which regularly seeks to tell people the gospel, a church where the speakers regularly explain the gospel and a church that prays for and equips its members to spread the gospel.

Committed to Fellowship and Service.

Paul teaches that pastors and teachers are “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity” (Ephesians 4:11-13). A church is to be a place of mutual encouragement and fellowship in which Christians build each other up to persevere in their faith as they study the Bible together and apply it to their lives. We need to belong to a church that gives its members opportunities to serve other Christians.

One important thing to remember is that CICCU is not a church, certainly not in the fullest sense in which the Bible says a church should look like. To understand this issue a bit better, have a look at the FAQs. This therefore means that finding a good church should be a really high priority for us as we come up to Cambridge. Most of us arrive in Cambridge on a Saturday – so do try and get along to church on the Sunday!