I have not helped build a church so what I’m presenting to you today is limited to a church goer’s perspective. A lot of churches have split because of reasons that could’ve easily been avoided. If you’re a new believer and have just recently accepted Christ Jesus [Yeshua] as your Lord and Savior, life ahead won’t be a bed of roses. Specially if you start attending church services and be part of the kingdom.

I’m not discouraging you but just warning you. You may have or may have not known this, but there had been a lot of people who realized they needed Jesus, accepted Him, learned to love Him, but were later turned down by the church. They were separated from Jesus because of the church. This is reality. There are many, many people who gave up Jesus Christ, because of the church. Isn’t that a bad thing?

Church is a soul’s clinic. It’s the body of Christ. At church we find healing, acceptance and comfort. But, quite frankly, and I’m sure you’d agree to this, church has either gotten too commercial or just died and uneffective. Why? Lots of reasons. With a church, you can get money, power and fame. Aren’t these all man’s weaknesses? Because of these weaknesses, the devil penetrated the church and, sadly, is now ruling many churches, without the church leaders even knowing.

But for the record, not all churches are like that. Find a church where Jesus attends. No guarantee you’ll find a perfect church but at least you get what your Spirit needs.

This is not a sermon but a simple guide for you. Simply follow the tips below for you as a new believer. If you’re not careful, church may be hell for you, but if you set your eyes on Jesus Christ, church will be like heaven. [And please start praying for guidance, wisdom, protection and understanding. You won't be able to do the following if just on your own. Ask God for help.]

1. When you attend a Christian church service for the first time, don’t expect people to be all that goody goody. It’s a common misconception that church people are highly spiritual. Of course not! They’re still humans and make mistakes like you do. The difference is that they know what they’re living for and they struggle every day to be pleasing and acceptable to God – to serve Him and His church, helping the ones in need. Well, not all church members are like that, some might have different reasons of being at church, which could be far from what the bible teaches, but that’s their thing and it’s none of our business to judge. Let God deal with them.
2. However, do not be skeptic. Just because everyone is human and makes mistakes, you don’t have to avoid them or think of the worst things on earth. Do not, ever, judge people. Even if they do it to you, you would be more mature than them, if you don’t, ever, judge. You deal with people everyday. It’s the same at church. Don’t think too much of what the people are really like. You might find them faking smiles and hi’s but, as mentioned above, they’re just humans. Instead, learn to see past the imperfections.
3. When you decide to follow Jesus [like what you should really do], get to know Him first. Read your bible. I highly recommend you sign up for an account at YouVersion. It’s a bible planning website where you get to plan your bible reading. That way you won’t miss or forget your daily bible reading and get to finish the entire book. Everything you need to know about God and how to live life is in that book.
4. Listen to Christian music and start talking to the Lord. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Do this before you help out in services or ministries. Ministry is an overflow of your love to Jesus. That’s when there’s so much love that you have to share it with others through ministry.
5. Learn to love the people around you [in or outside of church]. Learn to look beyond human mistakes and listen to different life stories. Understand different situations and put your self in everybody else’s shoe. By doing this, you will be equipped in serving God with His people.
6. Do not generalize. If someone wronged you, not everyone would’ve done the same. If a church has hurt you, not all churches would do the same. For the same reasong as #1, everyone on earth is human and mistake is like part of their nature. But don’t let this ruin your beautiful relationship with Jesus. You will be thankful when you overcome.
7. Finally, give it your everything. If you’re gonna serve God through church, give it your all. All your labor will be paid off when you see Him face to face, or even before that.