Prayer to Find a New Church

Do you need to find a new church? Whether you’re in a church that’s toxic, or whether you’re not currently plugged in to a church at all, the Lord can help you. He can help you find a new church that is healthy, godly, and will be a source of joy to your life.

If you need to find a new church today, simply ask the Lord for help.

Remember that He is the God who leads us and guides us. Psalm 32:8-10 tells us this:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him” (Psalm 32:8-10 NKJV).

He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. That applies to every aspect of your life. For example:

• He will show you what job offer to accept.
• He will show you who to date and marry, and who not to date and marry. 🙂
• He will teach you the way to walk forward into His plans for you, even if you have no idea how to get there by yourself.

Our God is our Shepherd.

He leads us and guides us, keeping us out of danger and helping us walk in the lush, verdant, good places He has for us. As Holy Spirit breathed the words through David:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:1-6 NKJV).

The truths of this precious Psalm apply to finding a new church as much as they apply to anything else.

No matter what your church experience has been so far in life, whether recently or in the distant past, the Lord wants to lead you into a beautiful place right now. He wants to guide you and shepherd you into a church home:

• that is full of vibrant spiritual life;
• where Holy Spirit has both the reign and the reins;
• where the Word of God is preached without error and without apology;
• where you lack for nothing;
• where you sense His presence and grow in Him daily, with the encouragement and support of fellow believers in Christ;
• where the sense of community and fellowship with other believers is tangible and palpable;
• where you have good ground into which to sow your tithes and offerings;
• where you will receive rest for your soul;
• where you will receive rest from your troubles and labors;
• where people pour into you, mentor you, and disciple you;
• where the pastors care about you as a person (not just caring about what you can do for them), and where they care for your soul;
• where the Lord will restore to you the years the locusts have eaten;
• where He will vindicate you in your land and give you double for your trouble;
• where you will receive the ministry of the Word every week, growing in the Word thereby;
• where you can link arms, shoulder-to-shoulder, with other believers; standing firmly in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace;
• where you can find good, godly friends among your brothers and sisters in Christ;
• where you can engage with other humans in the Body of Christ, using your spiritual gifts;
• where the corporate worship releases Heaven into your soul and life;
• where you can be equipped to do the work of the ministry.

This list of what a healthy church looks like could go on and on. Does it seem too good to be true? It’s not.

Beloved, God can and will lead you into a good, healthy church.

He will help you find a new church if you need one. The place to which He leads you may not look like you expect it to look. It may not look like your old church.

For example:

• You may find the Lord leading you into a micro-church instead of into a mega-church.
• You may find the Lord leading you into a church group that worships in a different way (e.g. at someone’s house) or on a different day of the week (e.g. on Friday night).
• The Lord may lead you to a place that worships more quietly or more loudly than you’re used to!

But He will lead you, if you will keep your heart open, your eyes on Him, and will follow after Him.

Are you struggling to find the words to pray for a new church right now? If so, I wrote a sample prayer for you below.

If you need the Lord to lead you into a new house of worship and community, pray this prayer to find a new church today:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I come before You in Jesus’ name.

Father God, I thank You that You know all about my life. You have taken me and put the pieces back together; You have healed and restored my life. Thank You! When I thought I was lost, broken, and done-for, You knew where every part of myself was–and You have restored me BETTER than I ever was before. Thank You.

Abba Father, You see that I need a new church home.

My family and I all need a new church to attend–and not just a building, but a true home with a true church family. I crave the ability to connect with brothers and sisters in Christ in a true family. I crave the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace that can be found at a godly, holy church. And I yearn for a church family with all my heart.

Abba Father, I know my prayer isn’t falling on deaf ears today. You care about me and my church involvement.

I thank You that You are fully ready to answer my prayer for a new church–for the right church. I praise You for Your goodness, Your mercy, and Your lovingkindness toward me and my family. I praise You for who You are. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.

Abba, You see what happened to me at my last church. You know how I was treated, and all the things that went down. Father, I forgive them. I forgive those people and that church. But I’m not going back to that place, for I don’t want to align myself with things that don’t match Your Word any longer.

So Father, since You led me out of there and I’m not going back, I need a new church–and I ask You today to help me find one.

Lord Jesus, the church is Your Body. You know it intimately, along with all its local expressions. There are so many churches to try, but I don’t know which one is to be my church home.

Therefore, Father, I ask You for three things:

1. Lead me and my family to the place You have for us, and help us know that we know that we know it’s the place from You–even if knowing that takes time.
2. Please open doors for me at the church where You desire me to be. Open doors that only You could open, and close doors that only You could close. Let doors either open or close for me according to Your will, and I ask that You would do this personally. Also, Father:
3. I ask that You would send me a “man of peace” at the church where You are sending me (see Luke 10:6). Show me where Your “man of peace” is, and confirm to me where I am supposed to be.

Father, please help me persist in the effort to find a new church until You guide me into the right church home:

• Don’t let me become frustrated or sad.
• Keep loneliness far from me, and from my family.
• Give us so much wisdom and discernment.
• Help us not to go back to our former church of bondage–spiritual Egypt–just because Egypt is familiar. Deliver us from that land of onions and leeks (see Numbers 11:1-6). Help us to keep our eyes on the Promised Land, even though we don’t know how to get there or where we are going.
• Let us not forget the importance of being established in community with Your Body in a local church expression. Help us to remember how important it is, and to really care; not to become indifferent.
• Keep me from compromise, no matter what, in Jesus’ name!

Father God, in Jesus’ name, I ask You today to instruct me and teach me in the way I should go.

Guide me with Your eye upon me. Guide my whole family, too, Lord. Please usher us personally into the church You have for us, and deliver us from every other church.

Thank You, Abba Father. I so look forward to the day when You restore the years the locusts have eaten in this area. Bring me and my family into the church that You have for us, where we can be a blessing–and where that church and church family can be a blessing to us, too.

Thank You, Abba Father. In Jesus’ mighty and holy name I pray, amen.”

Beloved, if you need a new church, our loving Father God will help you.

The church is Jesus’ Body; church is God’s idea! That doesn’t mean that everything that happens inside any local church expression is from God. But, it does mean that the concept of meeting together with the Body of Christ for corporate worship, teaching, prayer, and fellowship is God’s idea. And it is essential.

I know it can be discouraging if you’re in between churches right now. However, if that’s you, I encourage you to visit a different church every week that you think could be a possible church home for you and your family. Stay faithful and stay in church, even if you’re only visiting.

As you visit different churches, the Lord will show you where He wants you to be.

He may not show you the first week. Honestly, it may take months or a year! Why the delay? Well, a few potential reasons could be:

• He may want you to rest from your labors you exerted at the old church.
• He may need you to heal from any toxicity or abuse you experienced at the old church.
• BIG ALERT: He may even need you to recover from any brainwashing you experienced at the old church!

If you try to nail down your next church before you heal from your last one, you may find yourself making the wrong decision.

Like spirit flocks to like spirit, and like wound flocks to like wound. I have noticed, both personally and in general, that if you don’t heal from your experience at your old church, your old wound will attract you to churches that will treat you the exact same way.

Also, if you don’t get delivered from the brainwashing or abuse you experienced at your old church (if applicable), you’ll go to a new place where they operate in that exact same spirit.

Therefore, sometimes a perceived delay in God’s leading is actually a good thing.

As you wait on Him to bring you into your new church home, keep visiting churches. Keep attending, even if you’re not plugged in.

But, let Holy Spirit heal you as you pray and visit, so that you don’t end up attaching yourself to a repeat circumstance just because you weren’t healed or delivered from what happened to you before.

Even if it takes time, however, the Lord will help you find a new church.

He can lead you into a broad place, a wide place; a place with open doors and a man of peace. Pray daily for Him to do just that, and watch Him work!

Are you praying to find a new church home right now? If so, leave a comment below so my team and I can agree with you in prayer!