Steps to Take: It’s Time to Join a Local Church
The last time I was part of a church was because my dad and stepmom made me go. It was a small Catholic church in the town of Thorndike, MA. I stopped going once I was Confirmed and was no longer told I had to go.
I didn’t join a church when I was born again; I didn’t realize that was something the Word of God required of me. I attended church a few times while I was in Germany and Colorado, but I didn’t join those churches, so when God told me it was time to join a local church, I was clueless about how to go about doing that.
Watching Online Guest Pastor “I Pastor a Church in Las Vegas”
At this point, I was regularly listening to sermons online every day and multiple sermons on Sundays when God told me it was time to join a local church. I didn’t see or understand why I needed to join a local church, but since God said so, I was going to do it. However, I didn’t know how to even begin the process of selecting a church to belong to, so I asked God to help me and lead me to the church He wanted me to go to.
One of the live services I never missed at the time was from Transformation Church (Pastor Mike Todd) in Tulsa. On this particular Sunday, July 10th, 2022, there was a guest pastor, Jabin Chavez, filling in. I wasn’t too happy about it, but as he introduced himself, he mentioned that he pastors a church in Las Vegas called City Light Church. My ears perked up. I grabbed my phone and looked up City Light Church on Google Maps, it was five minutes from my house.
I told God, “God, you know I like convenience.”
Next, I took a quick look at their website to read what they stood for and believed. I also knew it was important for me to connect with the way Pastor Jabin preached and taught the word, so I listened closely to his message. Toward the end of his sermon, I received a text message from a woman I had met at a networking event. She wanted us to get together and mentioned she had just left church. Something in me (the Holy Spirit) prompted me to ask her what church she had just left.
I texted her back, “What church did you just leave?”
She replied, “City Light Church.”
It was clear God had answered my prayer and was calling me to join City Light Church, so I told him, “I’ll be there next Sunday.”
My First Service at City Light Church
I was a bit nervous when I attended my first service. I didn’t know what to expect. People were nice and welcoming, but I felt like an outsider as I saw so many other people hugging each other and catching up. As I watched them, something odd happened; for the first time in my life, I wanted what I was observing. I wanted to belong to a place where people would know me, be happy to see me, and embrace me. This was foreign to me, I had never cared about belonging somewhere before. I was experiencing what it’s like to get one of God’s desires for me. I go after what I desire, what God places on my heart, so when one of the pastors talked about the next steps for making City Light my home church, I scanned the QR code.
I don’t remember what the sermon was about, but I remember really enjoying the worship and sensing that I belonged there. I was determined or I should say, committed to making this happen. A good thing too, because the enemy became determined to stop me. I took the Next Step course that week and began serving shortly thereafter.
Future Steps to Take posts will discuss serving, attending small groups, getting water baptized, tithing, and leading a small group.
Called to the Local Church
Do you belong to a local church? I used to think attending church occasionally or listening to online sermons was enough. But being part of a local church isn’t just a suggestion—it’s part of what God has called us into as followers of Christ. He never meant for us to live out our faith in isolation. From the beginning, we were made to belong, to serve, to be held accountable, and to grow within a body of believers. The local church is where that happens.
Here’s what the Word of God reveals about why belonging to a local church matters:
Community and Fellowship
God designed us to live and grow in community. The local church is where we encourage one another, carry each other’s burdens, and reflect Christ’s love.
- Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together… but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
- Acts 2:42 (NIV): “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Accountability and Leadership
Spiritual growth requires accountability, and the church provides structure for both encouragement and correction under godly leadership.
- Hebrews 13:17 (NIV): “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account.”
- Galatians 6:1-2 (ESV): “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness… Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Discipleship and Growth
Churches are where the Word is preached, faith is nurtured, and disciples are made. Spiritual maturity doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in the context of teaching, fellowship, and obedience.
- Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV): “So Christ himself gave… the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
- Colossians 3:16 (NIV): “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom…”
Service and Ministry
We each have gifts, and the church is where we discover, develop, and use those gifts—not for ourselves, but for the benefit of others and the glory of God.
- 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV): “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
- Romans 12:4-6 (NIV): “For just as each of us has one body with many members… so in Christ we, though many, form one body… We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
Public Affirmation and Commitment
Joining a church is a declaration—not just to the church, but to the world—that you belong to Jesus and to His people. It’s an act of alignment and accountability.
- Matthew 10:32 (ESV): “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.”
- Acts 2:41 (NIV): “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”
Fulfilling the Great Commission
The mission Jesus gave us is global, but it starts locally. A healthy, active church is a training ground and launching pad for making disciples, both nearby and across the world.
- Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV): “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
- Acts 1:8 (ESV): “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem… and to the end of the earth.”
Steps to Take: It’s Time to Join a Local Church
If you’ve been walking with Jesus but haven’t yet joined a local church, here are some practical steps you can take:
- Pray and Ask God to Lead You. Don’t pick a church based on preference alone. Ask God where He wants you to be planted.
- Research Local Churches. Look for churches that preach the full Gospel, teach the Bible, are Spirit-filled, and create space for discipleship, community, and service.
- Visit and Observe. Attend a few services. See how the church functions. Are people friendly? Are they living out what’s being preached? Are they teaching from the Bible? Is the Holy Spirit there?
- Connect with Leadership. Ask about membership, vision, doctrine, and opportunities to grow and serve.
Obedience, Belonging, and Becoming
When I said yes to joining City Light Church, I didn’t fully understand all that I was stepping into. But I knew God had spoken, and that was enough. Since that day, He has used the local church to shape, mature, and stretch me in ways I never expected. He’s surrounded me with a wonderful spiritual family. He’s opened doors for me to serve, lead, be humbled, grow, and walk in greater obedience.
If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, just attending when it’s convenient or staying disconnected while watching online—ask yourself: Is this really how God wants me to live out my faith?
God is calling you into more—more connection, more growth, more purpose, and more responsibility. The local church is His design, and it’s where He plants us to become who we were created to be