If you do choose to move…put more attention into your church than your job, neighborhood, home, or school….be absolutely certain, that wherever you go, you and your family will be able to be members of a church that honors the Word, preaches truth, and faithfully worships the King. For nothing less than spiritual life and death are at stake.

There are times when circumstances dictate that we move—that we move from one town to another, one province or state to another, or even one country or continent to another. There are other times when it is desire more than circumstance that causes us to uproot ourselves from one location and re-root ourselves in another.

It has long concerned me how many people move to a new house without giving substantial attention to a new church. They carry out an extensive job search and move only after signing on with a new company. They put great effort into choosing a town and selecting a house within it. They may visit nearby schools to ensure their children will continue to receive a good education. But they simply assume they’ll be able to find a church.

I often find myself thinking about the insight I learned from a recent book: That one of the most dangerous things a Christian can do is move. Why is it so dangerous? Because a move necessarily uproots that person or their family from their local church. And while they may intend to find a new church in their new location, they often do not. Sometimes they simply cannot find a good one and other times they break the habit of attending and never quite recover it. The key insight is that many people are “accidental deconstructionists” who abandon the faith through sloppiness or poor planning rather than conviction or malice.

I have seen this play out many times, often with former members of our church. While they were with us they appeared to be thriving and growing, joyfully attending services and faithfully serving other people. Then they announced they were moving for work or school or perhaps just for a change of scenery. We did our best to say farewell to them, pray for them, and bless them on their way.

Sometimes in our first follow-ups after the move we learned they were struggling to find a new church and in our later follow-ups we learned they had not found one at all. Soon they would stop replying to us altogether, perhaps in shame that they had now abandoned the local church and maybe even the Christian faith.

Read More