The Collegiate’s Guide To Finding A Local Church

I remember feeling nervous about finding a church in college.

My family had only attended one church my whole life thus far, and so freshman Kara had no idea what it was going to be like to visit churches.

I attended a small Christian university and I remember my roommate asked me if I wanted to get lunch with some girls from her Welcome Week group. We ended up grabbing Chick-fil-A and then going to a gazebo on campus to eat.

During Welcome Week’s fair day, several local churches were there to tell us about their college ministries. During lunch, Hannah asked us which churches we were thinking about visiting.

One girl said she wanted to visit one particular church that I remember standing out to me from the fair. I said I was thinking about visiting that church too. A few other girls nodded in agreement.

Hannah told us that she had brought her family’s mini-van to college and she could take several of us to church with her if we all wanted to visit together that coming Sunday.

We made a plan for what time to meet. That Sunday, seven of us piled into Hannah’s mini-van to go visit that church.

We repeated this the next week. And then the week after that.

Soon I found myself loving that church and I decided I didn’t want to even visit anywhere else!

Finding a church in college wasn’t as hard as I first feared!

If you’re starting college this fall and are unsure of how to find a local church home, never fear. In this post, I’m going to share five ways you can find a local church.

1. Find Churches To Visit

See if any churches come to your Welcome Week fair and go visit their booths to learn more about them. If they have a flyer or pamphlet about their church, take one that way you can remember to look it up online later.

If your college doesn’t have a Welcome Week fair or no churches came to it, you can search online for churches in your college’s town.

When you pull up the church’s website, look for the following things:

• Their statement of beliefs
• What time their worship services are
• Info about small group times
• The address of the church

Write down the name of the churches you look at. Include what time their worship services are held so you know when to visit. I recommend getting to church about 10 minutes before the service starts so you can find a seat and get settled.

2. Visit Churches

Duh.

But really! Actually visit churches, don’t just talk about visiting churches.

Visit a church on your very first Sunday of college. I know it’s scary– I was terrified. But if you don’t start visiting right away, it will be harder later.

Most churches in college towns expect there to be new people coming to visit the first few weeks after the school year starts. So you won’t stand out. :)

Something to keep in mind: You need to find a church that preaches God’s word and teaches you about Him. Ultimately, if a church seems awesome but what they’re teaching doesn’t line up with the Bible, go to a different church. Period. The church you attend needs to line up with biblical truth.

3. Visit With Friends

Sometimes we need a familiar face when we go some place new.

See if your roommate would like to go to church with you. This could be a great way to find out if she’s a Christian or not!

If you went to your college’s Welcome Week, ask the friends you made there if they want to go with you.

Ask your suitemates if they would like to visit churches with you.

You can find your college’s Baptist Student Ministry or another Christian college group and ask the leader of that where they go to church and if you can go with them.

If you’re too shy to ask someone to go to church with you or no one wants to go with you, never fear. You can still go visit by yourself and meet people while there.

I don’t know if there’s a “magic number” of churches you need to visit before you find “the one.” If you find a church you really like on your second Sunday, don’t be afraid to stick around. If you have to visit a bunch before you find it, don’t give up.

Just don’t stop going to church.

4. Set yourself a deadline

Decide how long you’re going to look for a church and then set a deadline for it.

I recommend setting a deadline of two-three months, one semester tops. This will prevent you from falling into the trap of “forever church hopping” –that is, hopping from church to church without making one your home.

Once whatever time limit you set is up, pick a church and stick with it. Go to that church for a month straight. Then, if you like it and it feels like home, stay there. If something about it seems off to you, try another church for a month.

5. Go to a Church Event that isn’t on a Sunday Morning

This can be Wednesday night church, Sunday night church, a small group Bible study that meets on Thursdays, etc.

This is something I recommend doing after you’ve decided to return to a church you’ve already visited.

For example, my friends and I attended just the main service on our first Sunday visiting church, and then the next week we tried out the college-aged Sunday School class. A few weeks later, a midweek Bible study for college students started and we went to that too.

On my second or third Sunday at the church, I met the children’s minister and she asked me if I would be willing to help out in the children’s program on Wednesday nights.

By attending church events besides the main service, I was able to meet more people at that church. I met children and adults at the church. My community of believers was expanding.

So once you found a church whose main service you like, visit the church at different times of the week.

Any other tips? How did you decided to go to the church you’re currently at?

Let me know in the comments below or DM me on Instagram!

Posted by Kara Beth & filed under College, Faith Tips. This post has 8 comments.