6 Search Strategies for Spiritual Seekers

by Reba Collins

Just because a church invites you to “come as you are” doesn’t mean they are willing, or prepared, to answer your spiritual questions or help you wrestle with your faith doubts. In last week’s blog I wrote about some common characteristics of churches that are prepared to accept you as you are, doubts and all. You can read that blog here.

But how do you find churches that not only accept, but also reach out to those who are skeptical and cautious, who are exploring Christianity, or who want to return to their faith?

Go to your favorite Website search engine – Google, Bing, Yahoo, or other – and search the following combinations of key phrases to find church communities with a “seeker sensitive” culture. If you’re looking locally, add your city or zip code to the search string:

1.       ALPHA COURSE or STARTING POINT SMALL GROUP + CHURCH – Directs you to the churches in your area that offer these two nationally well-known programs for people exploring Christianity. The Alpha Course website also offers a “Find A Course” search engine using zip codes.

2.       SPIRITUAL SEEKERS + CHURCH – Directs you to churches with self-identified “seeker sensitive” cultures.

3.      EXPLORING CHRISTIANITY SMALL GROUP; CHRISTIANITY 101; NEW CHRISTIANS CLASS; WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN? + CHURCH – Finds churches that offer a smaller community for you to explore Christian beliefs.

4.      MEGACHURCH – Finds options that have attracted a lot of people from various backgrounds, but some of these church types are more forthcoming about being seeker sensitive than others. If you are returning to a faith community, a larger church might be a good place to start undetected. Just make sure they have more for you than a nice, big worship service.

5.      MULTI-SITE CHURCH/CAMPUS/CHURCH PLANT – Locates churches that may or may not be part of a megachurch. Some smaller multi-campus churches multiply to stay small and inclusive of various communities. Whichever model is available, multi-site groups expect new people to show up. Likewise, new church plants expect new people from various backgrounds and faith journeys. Make sure to check out these church types websites to see which new people groups they’re expecting.

6.      PROGRESSIVE/EMERGING CHURCH – Finds churches that offer group cultures more interested in exploring individual spirituality and spiritual relationships than enforcing doctrine. Progressive and Emerging cultures accept more readily that not everyone shares the same spiritual quest and that people come with questions and discussion.

Churches with seeker sensitive opportunities tend to be outwardly focused communities. These church communities intentionally focus on helping people establish a relationship with God, not with just the church itself. They use relationships in small groups to equip the spiritual journey, and they make space for discussion and inquiry about the relevancy of God to self and others.