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Church · Church Reviews

Sunday, February 23rd we visited, “White Stone Christian Fellowship.”

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

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Sunday, February 23rd we visited, “White Stone Christian Fellowship.” Their address is 427 14th Ave N, Payette, ID 83661. Their phone number is (208) 642-4630. The Pastor is Dennis Dickinson. His e-mail address is dennis@wscfpayette.com.

1. How approachable/welcoming, is the Pastor before and/or after the service? Pastor Dennis greeted us as we came in to the sanctuary and he talked to us after the service.
2. How friendly is the congregation? The congregation was small.  We were only engaged in conversation by a couple of people during the moments of fellowship.
3. How many congregants were there? Approximately 20-30
4. How do they take the offering? There was an offering box as you walk into the sanctuary.
5. Where are they located? Their address is 427 14th Ave N, Payette, I D.
6. How is the service broke down between, prayers, worship, and sermon? I wasn’t watching the time so these are approximations, it felt like about 15 minutes of good, God centered hymns and some worship songs, about 5-10 minutes of prayer total, and 30-40 minutes of sermon.
7. What is the condition of their facilities? The facilities were average for a small church.  The parking lot needs resurfacing.  That might be an issue for people with walkers or wheel chairs.
8. What is the preaching style of their Pastor? Expository
9. Do they use a specific translation of the Bible, or prohibit any translations, if so why? They didn’t officially say which one to use, but after talking to the Pastor, he likes the NASB 🙂
10. Do they have a web page? If so, is there a clear, orthodox, confession or statement of faith? Yes, here is the link http://www.wscfpayette.com/ and yes there is, http://www.wscfpayette.com/doctrines-bylaws/
Pastor Dickinson is very knowledgeable. He understands Koine Greek and Biblical Hebrew. Matter of fact they have a Bible School connected to the Church where he teaches. The school is Charnock Institute of the Bible. Here is the link http://www.charnockedu.com/
Intersting note, Charnock is the last name of Stephen Charnock, a puritan theologian.

The Puritans: Stephen Charnock

Church

First Impressions, the Criteria I Plan on Using.

Bob Snyder1 Comment
  1. How approachable/welcoming, is the Pastor before and/or after the service?
  2. How friendly is the congregation?
  3. How many congregants are there?
  4. How do they take the offering?
  5. Where are they located?
  6. How is the service broke down between, prayers, worship, and sermon?
  7. What is the condition of their facilities?
  8. What is the preaching style of their Pastor?
  9. Do they use a specific translation of the Bible, or prohibit any translations, if so why?
  10. Do they have a web page?  If so, is there a clear, orthodox, confession or statement of faith?

There are some more important criteria for evaluating a Church.  I will list those next.  The important things take more than a  first impression.  The first impression can be helpful in determining if it is worth learning more about that church.  You can’t tell from first impressions if the Church is going to be like the Church in Acts 2.  Finding a family you can confess your sins to, ask for prayer from, and share communion with is hard to find.

You can’t really make an informed decision if you yourself are not informed.  If you have a very small or immature understanding of scripture and doctrines, it will be hard for you to find a good Church.  You should read and study your Bible.  Get grounded in scripture so you can tell a good Church from a bad one.  If you walk in the door, and see the church; picking up snakes, rolling on the floor, naming it and claiming it, being of fire, planting seeds, speaking in tongues, blowing a shofar while wearing a prayer shawl, and looking for demons in every person, then I don’t think you need to check any further.  It is safe to say, you can go on to the next church.

So what things really matter?  Here is my list.

  1. Orthodoxy, orthodoxy, orthodoxy!
  2. Theology, are they Arminian, Reformed, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Continuationists, Cessationists, Egalitarians, Complementarians, and so on?
  3. What kind of Church government do they utilize?
  4. What ministries do they engage in?
  5. How/where was the Pastor educated?
  6. Are they part of a denomination?
  7. What is their statement of faith?
  8. Are they Christ centered or man centered?
  9. Do they believe the Bible is the authoritative word of God, infallible, and inerrant?
  10. Are there opportunities for me to use my God-given gifts?
  11. Have I heard of any potential areas of concern with that Church?  if so I need to ask the Pastor about those issues face to face.

This blog will be focusing on the, “First Impression” aspect of choosing a Church for the time being.  As we visit local Churches, I will post an evaluation of that Church.  I am doing this more for my family than anyone else.  As we go I will get the Pastors contact information, and try to ascertain the more important details.  I hope this is helpful for others in the area as well.church_21