Finding a church that believes and preaches biblically sound doctrine is harder than you think. Some people are able to find one pretty easily, but others know the struggle.

What makes things even worse is not knowing exactly what you’re looking for. For some, their eyes may begin opening to the truth of Scripture while they are already in a church. They start realizing something is wrong with the biblical foundation of their church, but they can’t quite put their finger on what it is. My wife and I went through that for years. I have written an article that might help: Why I Couldn’t Understand What I Didn’t Understand.

For those who know what church to look for, I hope the following may help. Begin looking for a reformed church by checking out this website, The Master’s Seminary. This theological seminary teaches men that God is above all, that His sovereignty is absolute in all things and that Scripture is sufficient and inerrant. The above web address shows the churches where these graduates preach. This is not a guarantee that all these churches preach the way they were taught, but it’s a great place to start.

Another way to find a church is to type in “reformed church near me” on your internet browser and research the results thoroughly. My wife and I found a church this way, but unfortunately, we had to quit after going just a short time. The church was over an hour away and we couldn’t go as often as we wanted to. This coupled with some family issues, we had to quit going.

You need to go to church to have fellowship with other Christians. It’s deeply frustrating when there are so many churches close to you, some even stacked right across the street from one another, and you can’t attend a single one. You can’t go because they don’t preach the truth of the Word of God or they distort and twist the truth. The most dangerous church is the one that preaches so close to the truth, but twists it in minor ways that have huge impacts.

My wife and I were given the advice to pick a Baptist church and just overlook the differences. We tried that and it didn’t go very well. As I studied Scripture more and more, I came to believe those differences were actually heresies. They contradict the Gospel that the Bible teaches and we can’t support that.

If you are in this struggle of not being able to find a church and not being able to go to the ones near you, don’t give up. Please, stay in God’s Word through this time. The enemy can use this situation as a wedge and separate you from the Bible’s teachings and authority. You may or may not have realized that the longer you stay away from God’s Word, the more easily the world’s temptations are accepted. You’ll watch shows, support certain behaviors, entertain thoughts or do things you wouldn’t have done if you had stayed in the Word.

Get in the habit of having both family and individual Bible study. Watch, listen or read sermons from biblical preachers like John MacArthur, Charles Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle and many others. Most churches have online videos of their sermons along with live recordings; when you find a biblical church but going there in person is not an option, you can view these. Also, you can call the pastor and ask if they are involved in any interactive online studies or weekly group meetings. I’ve spoken with churches whose men and women meet weekly on platforms like Zoom, which you can easily get involved with.

Always keep a constant prayer life. God already knows everything, so prayer is not a benefit for Him but rather for us. He instructs us to pray for our growth as Christians and to become closer to Him. We need to know that we depend on Him for everything, and with our prayers, we acknowledge and surrender our will to His. We ask and sometimes cry to Him for our needs and wants, and finding a church should be one of those needs.