Here is what’s troubling to me—folks are usually not making church a first priority in their decision to move. Either they haven’t thought about what church they would go to in their new location, or they just assume there will be a good church near them no matter where they move (after all, this is America, where a church can be found on every street corner, right?).

A church member or friend comes to me and says, “I’ve got a job offer in another town,” or “I’m ready to do more education and have applied to a few different schools around the country,” or “We’re shopping for a home.” Not surprising for a mobile society.

In the 21st century, people often move for jobs, or education, or buying a new home. Long gone are the days when a person stays in the same town and maybe even takes over the family business. The average American is said to move as many as 11 or 12 times in their lifetime, most of which comes before their mid-forties.

I’d like to suggest two principles for someone who is thinking about moving.

1. If you are considering moving, make sure there is a good church in your new location before you make the final decision to move.

If your participation in a local church is one of the key sources for your spiritual growth (Ephesians 3:10; 4:11-13; Hebrews 10:24-25), why would you take a risk and go someplace without knowing first if there would be a good church near you?

Don’t make your decision to move based solely on criteria like:

• This new job will be good for your career.
• Education will give you better job prospects in the future.
• You’re dissatisfied with your current job so you need to move on to somewhere else.
• You’ve outgrown your current house, so you want to move to a bigger one.
• You want a bigger home just because you can afford it.
• You are about to start having kids and want to move closer to your family.
• You would rather live in a city or the country or where the pace of life is different.

Here is what’s troubling to me—folks are usually not making church a first priority in their decision to move. Either they haven’t thought about what church they would go to in their new location, or they just assume there will be a good church near them no matter where they move (after all, this is America, where a church can be found on every street corner, right?).

What you shouldn’t do is pick a new career or apply for an education opportunity or buy a new home and have absolutely no consideration of where you are going to go to church.

To do that is to make your spiritual life secondary to your career, educational choices, or home purchase; and that is just flat out dangerous.

As best you can, build your life around a church where you are prospering spiritually—not around your job or your educational training or a new home. You don’t want your work or educational choices or home purchase to jeopardize your spiritual growth.

2. Consider, at some point in your life, committing to a church long-term.

If you’ve found a church where you are growing spiritually, then you’ve found a good thing. Why give it up?

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