Host: TJ Freeman
Summary: This episode of the Back to Rurality podcast, hosted by TJ Freeman, focuses on how to wisely invest in a local church, especially in rural areas where options may be limited. Freeman acknowledges the challenges of finding a healthy church and discusses the pitfalls of approaching church selection with a consumerist mindset.

Key Points:

• The Problem of a Consumerist Mindset: Freeman addresses that choosing a church based on their friendliness, look, music selection, or any other nonessential reason is not how to pick a good church home.
• Understanding and Teaching the Gospel: If a church does not proclaim the truth of the Gospel it is not a church. If the truths of the gospel are not taught regularly and believed by the members then it is not a church worth investing in.
• Faithfully Preaching the Word: The pastor does not have to be the next Charles Spurgeon, but he does need to open his Bible and teach the congregation the best he can the emphasis of the text.
• Administering Sacraments Regularly: The church needs to take part in regular baptism and the Lord's Supper. The regularity can vary, but the church is required to have them.

Listener Takeaways:

• Just go visit a church. If it meets the three qualifications talk about here, then go to membership class and try to get to know the members.
• Listen as carefully to the preaching as you expect the pastor to be preaching.
• Pray and ask the Lord to grow your church in other healthy ways.
  

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