Oak Hills may or may not end up being your regular church home. Wherever you decide to worship God, we hope that the following list of “Biblical Criteria for Churches” (Adapted from Discipleship Journal, issue #35, 1986) will be a helpful tool for you in making this important decision.
CRITERIA 1: The centrality of the Bible as the infallible Word of God.
“Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13).
CRITERIA 2: The centrality of Jesus Christ as the head of the church.
“And God placed all things under His (Jesus’) feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church” (Ephesians 1:22).
CRITERIA 3: Scripture-centered, God-centered, Christ-centered worship.
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-20).
CRITERIA 4: Authentic, meaningful fellowship and community.
“All the believers were together and had everything in common…They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:44-46).
CRITERIA 5: Sound and mature leadership.
“Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16).
CRITERIA 6: Ongoing training in the Christian walk.
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2).
CRITERIA 7: Opportunities for every person to serve.
“It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11-12).
CRITERIA 8: A heart of prayer.
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority…” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
CRITERIA 9: An outward focus.
“…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
