How to find a church in 2025
Last year, we moved from Dallas, TX to Lancaster, PA.
There are two things we miss from Dallas, and they’re intertwined — our friends and our church. We both came back to the church at Munger Place and were married there. And our ride-or-dies were largely from my small group made up of guys from a variety of Christian churches.
One would think it wouldn’t be hard to find a church in a town like Lancaster, but finding the right one for us has been a challenge. When we first got here I said I wanted to start with the geographically nearest church and keep working outward until we hit on the right one, feeling called to be in a “neighborhood church.”
Instead, we relied on online research and a quest for churches that matched our tastes. Up until this month, that search was futile. Whether it was theological nuance, music or preaching style, each visit turned up another “no.” And to be honest, we became less diligent about the search over time, instead leaning on our own Bible study and video sermons online.
The longer we’ve been here — just over a year now — the more we’ve felt a community-shaped hole. So just about any time I meet someone new, I quiz them about their church. At a business event a couple weeks ago, I met a gentleman whose church sounded like what we seek — a biblical, progressive, welcoming, authentic community of Christ. Moreover, it is literally the geographically closest church to our home, a crisp block away from our front door.
I’ve seen West End Mennonite Fellowship hundreds of times. I took note of it on our first visit to town. But in my ignorance, I discarded it because of its denomination.
What’s wrong with the Mennonites? In my uninformed mind, I had visions of Amish-type garb and isolationism, maybe some butter-churning. So we didn’t even consider it.
But after the conversation with the congregant, I did what I do these days when I’m trying to understand something unfamiliar.
I went to their Facebook page, where they stream services. I used Downie to download the most recent 23 (because that’s what fit on one listing page). Then I transcribed them all using Whisper. Finally, I uploaded all of those to Perplexity with this query:
Based only on the transcrips in the uploaded files in this space give me an analysis of this church. Is it biblically based? Is it strict? Conservative or progressive? Any red flags?
The result led me to visit . (Crystal wasn’t able to go, but eagerly awaited my scouting report.) Everything about the analysis, including red flags that were green in our eyes made me hopeful. I’ve now been four times and am certain we’ve found a church home.
This is the church’s mission statement:
“Welcome all people into a safe and healing community where we grow to be like Jesus and join Him in extending His kingdom to the world.”
While the worship is as deep as any church I’ve seen, there’s also a town meeting vibe. While the pastor leads, there are more than thirty different preachers over the year, including trained congregants. The announcements section is endearingly wheels off with usually over a half dozen speakers. The music is simple. The church appears to be in an old school and in the best ways gives off the vibe of mission churches I’ve been to in Nicaragua and Guatemala.
There are about thirty international flags hanging from the ceiling, each representing at least one local refugee who is a member of the church. My understanding is that there’s about 300 members, so that’s a remarkable percentage.
The preaching has been deep-text analysis with theology-school rigor and everyday relatability. Men and women preach and lead.
Hospitality is a cornerstone of this church. Folks are actively welcoming without being prodded from the pulpit. The first week on being identified as new, we were presented with a “legendary” date bread loaf made weekly for the purpose of welcome.
We’ve been traversing some rocky weather in our lives this season. But yesterday afternoon, I left with more peace in my heart than I’ve had since we moved here. We’re home.