Which denomination do you belong to and why?

[Ervin P]

Ok, I have contacted four churches all up here in Melbourne, Australia and only Quakers responded. Reasons as to why I started the other thread on the Seventh  Day Adventist’s  is because I was thinking of contacting them. As some of you might know I haven’t been baptised yet( I probably wouldn’t be able to right now because of very strict virus related restrictions over here in Melbourne). And Quakers don’t baptise.

I mean really, is there a Church that’s totally right with everything or do we/I find the best we can and then do our best within that church, even though it might not be fully as we think it should be? Also, do we have to be a part of a church?

And yes, I would love to hear about your denomination and why are you a part of that particular Church.

 Thanks 

 

 

[OneLight]

Hi Ervin.  To start with, I do not belong to any one denomination.  There is no one denomination that has everything correct, nor is there any non-denominational church that has everything correct either.

As for being baptized, just find a brother or sister  in Christ who is willing to baptize you.  You do not need any specific documentation about being baptized, just a willing heart and an understanding of what being baptized means.

[teddyv]

Born and raised in the Christian Reformed Church (in Canada). So was my wife (different church) and we still currently attend one of that denomination. This denomination stems from the Dutch Reformed tradition (neo-Calvinist). I would not presume that this denomination has it all figured out. All the ones I've attended were solid Bible preaching churches. They've all had their issues including splits over certain doctrinal issues.

[johnthebaptist]

2 hours ago, Ervin P said:

Ok, I have contacted four churches all up here in Melbourne, Australia and only Quakers responded. Reasons as to why I started the other thread on the Seventh  Day Adventist’s  is because I was thinking of contacting them. As some of you might know I haven’t been baptised yet( I probably wouldn’t be able to right now because of very strict virus related restrictions over here in Melbourne). And Quakers don’t baptise.

I mean really, is there a Church that’s totally right with everything or do we/I find the best we can and then do our best within that church, even though it might not be fully as we think it should be? Also, do we have to be a part of a church?

And yes, I would love to hear about your denomination and why are you a part of that particular Church.

 Thanks 

 

 

As to your first question, I am a United Methodist.

As for your second question, I don't think there is a perfect church. Certainly mine isn't. I might suggest you find a church you like and then set a good example for the others.

[Jedi4Yahweh]

I grew up Baptist and Methodist, until I started reading the bible and stopped letting a denomination interpret it for me.   The main reason I left Baptist and Methodist were over their Calvinist and Disponsationalist doctrines.  I have attended non-denominational churches since.  I am currently a part of a Messianic non-denominational church.  We simply believe we are required to believe and obey every word of Messiah and his teachings which includes the keeping of God's moral law of Loving God with all your heart, soul and strength and Loving your neighbor as yourself on these two laws hangs all the teachings of Moses and the Prophets. Loving God means you obey him.  If you are obeying Messiah then your fulfilling the Law of God.  I would agree with @johnthebaptist there are no perfect churches.  When we stand before God we are not going to be judged by what our denomination teaches but by the words and teachings of Messiah.  If you are obeying Messiah you can not go wrong.  Its when we follow man and denominational dogmas are when we error from the truth.

And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. - 2Jo 1:6 ESV

Edited September 17, 2020 by Jedi4Yahweh

[missmuffet]

I am non-denomination. I am a fundamentalist born again Christian. That is simply my choice. 

[Who me]

4 hours ago, Ervin P said:

I haven’t been baptised yet( I probably wouldn’t be able to right now because of very strict virus related restrictions over here in Melbourne). And Quakers don’t baptise.

I mean really, is there a Church that’s totally right with everything or do we/I find the best we can and then do our best within that church, even though it might not be fully as we think it should be? Also, do we have to be a part of a church?

 

May I suggest that you look at the statements of belief of the churches within a reasonable travel distance from your home and that you watch there online services, or if they still have services in church attend them.

The thing about the online services is you can easily watch several weeks worth and get an idea of how they worship and of there preaching through that medium.

Once you have found a church that you can agree with there statement of faith and like there on line services. Contact them with a view to becoming a member of that church.

No minister is going to pay much attention to request for baptism from an unknown person.

Get involved in a local church in what ever form is available and in time you can ask the minister about baptism.

 

What church do I attend.

A n independent nonconformist church in the suburbs of London England. We have about two hundred members, two full time ministers and a full set of committees. Currently we are not able to meet in our church building. So we have two online services on Sunday a morning service with a zoom after church coffee and chat. An evening service. We also have a biweek online prayer central, and a bi weekly zoom house group meeting that alternate each week. W will be restating an online toddler group meeting and also have zoom meetings for the various youth groups.

We're conservative evangelical as far as theology goes.

 

Why do I attend, simple I agree with the theology, I enjoy the fellowship, the members accept be for who I am and I try to do the same for them, it does help that I've been there for a long time.

[other one]

I attend a Nazarene Church.  I do not agree with all it's doctrine, but we attend there because of the people.   They love and care for each other more than other places where I have attended....    and after I had a falling out with the Church of Christ we visited many.
While on vacation we will attend church here and there and without fail the people in the church welcome you and make you feel welcome....   and a few even fed us after the services.

 

[Starise]

On 9/17/2020 at 8:58 AM, Ervin P said:

Ok, I have contacted four churches all up here in Melbourne, Australia and only Quakers responded. Reasons as to why I started the other thread on the Seventh  Day Adventist’s  is because I was thinking of contacting them. As some of you might know I haven’t been baptised yet( I probably wouldn’t be able to right now because of very strict virus related restrictions over here in Melbourne). And Quakers don’t baptise.

I mean really, is there a Church that’s totally right with everything or do we/I find the best we can and then do our best within that church, even though it might not be fully as we think it should be? Also, do we have to be a part of a church?

And yes, I would love to hear about your denomination and why are you a part of that particular Church.

 Thanks 

 

 

Hi Ervin P.

Looking for a good church can be a real mine field. With a due respect i think we need to be really careful. Knowing that as others have mentioned, there are no perfect churches. There are different types of Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians. I spent a very long time learning some of it the hard way. Over time many denominations have split with radically different approaches. Sadly many of these splits resulted in watered down liberal churches who are accepting of certain sins even from pastors or leaders. Another important aspect is if you give to them financially I think it's important to know where your money is going. 

There was wisdom in the statement above to look at what a church believes. It may not seem a serious thing in the beginning but the differences can fester over time. 

There are usually three things attracting people to a church, The "fellowship" or people themselves, the teachings and the ways  in which things are done. The same kinds of churches can do things very differently. 

Ask yourself- Do I know what they believe and teach? Does this line up with what the Bible teaches? 

A church with very kind people might be teaching heresy. Even though the people are great, they are following a wayward way. I wouldn't look at ONLY the people even though this is very important we have good loving Christian people. Often I have seen this as the result of changes that have occurred over time. Several generations attended a church. In the beginning they were solid. In later times false teaching has crept in but those people continue to attend the same church regardless.

So many things to look at here- Where do I begin to continue?  I once attended a church that was well grounded theologically. A very solid Bible teaching church but in the end I couldn't stay there because the pastor was too much for me going off of the "deep end" in his sermons. I remember several times he jumped up on the pews and ran up and down both sides to make some kind of a point. That sort of thing does nothing for me. If I want theatrics I'll go to the theater... after that happened I could never see him the same way again and I eventually left that church even though I was worship leader there. 

I won't continue to hammer away on finding the "right church'. It's funny how I found my last church. I said, " Lord please lead me to where you want me to go." I did a lot of research on churches in my area and I finally decided to go to a certain church that next Sunday. When Sunday came I went to the location all ready to go there but the building was empty with no notes or signs of explanation anywhere. My wife and I just decided to drive around since it was a nice day.  at about 10:27 am we ended up in front of one particular church. We had no intent to be there at that time. The services started at 10:30, so I said to my wife , " why not?" ...so we did.

We are still at that church. It has a wonderful system of checks and balances. Not something all churches have. Believe me, I think you need that with some pastors. Not only that. The friends we have made are wonderful. It's like God has multiplied us tenfold coming here. God works in mysterious ways and clearly this was His way of putting me where he wanted me to be.

On the Baptism- God knows your heart. Baptism does not save a person. It's only a representation of your new life in Christ. I think God understands if it takes awhile to find the right situations which might not involve immediately joining a church. I recommend you pray for Gods leading. He will lead you. If something doesn't feel right in your spirit , it probably isn't right.

Notice I have intentionally stayed away from telling you the denomination I'm at. I have seen churches here in the states change their names but keep the same teaching. I believe denomination is only important so far as it lets you know the basis for what they supposedly teach. It will get your "foot in the door" to make a decision. After that though, it just takes some time of attending, praying, seeking. I would never join anything immediately and I might attend for a year or more before i commit to becoming a member. At the church I attend now I feel as if I'm already a member since we have been invited to inner circle kinds of things. Treated like we've been there for years. I will probably join. In one sense we already have. Technical church membership is usually just an acknowledgement of such.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Starise

[Salvation67]

My denomination is simply Christian. The church I go to must teach from the Bible with no mandatory "man made doctrine" to follow before you can become a member.