Last week, Student Development put on a “Senior Meets World” event, where seniors could gather information about some of the transitions they’ll be facing in coming months. I wrote a brief handout on Finding a Local Church, and am sharing it here for those who missed the event.

One of the best ways to get connected in your new home is through finding and joining a local church. Seek to put yourself quickly under the authority of godly elders and in fellowship with a local body of believers so that you can grow in grace and use your gifts for the kingdom.

Because of great resources online, you can do some research in advance. Check out websites, listen to a few sermons, make some calls, talk to friends, others whose wisdom you value. But, there is no substitute for visiting, talking with congregation members, meeting with a pastor, asking questions in person.

Some considerations for choosing a faithful local church:

The main thing: Is God’s word faithfully read and taught each Sunday in a way that consistently proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ? If this is so, you can adjust to anything else.

Proximity: Consider the church’s location in relation to your house or apartment. It’s wonderful if you can invite new friends and neighbors to a church that is close by and get involved in ministry that reaches out right in your neighborhood. Perhaps this may mean choosing a smaller, less well-known church that happens to be close by.

Ministry: Is the church active in local outreach and global ministry? Can you get involved? Look for opportunities to serve.

Growth opportunities: Are there small groups or home groups that you can join? This is a great way to get connected into deeper fellowship with your congregation.

Helpful online resources:

PCA Churches lists all PCA churches
9Marks Church Search (also, www.9marks.org has many great articles on church, church membership, church involvement)
Founders Churches Baptist and reformed churches
Acts29 Network
http://www.sermonaudio.com listen to online sermons from wide range of denominations; many churches have podcasts as well.
http://www.churchseek.net/ Many denominations, searchable by state, city, zip code

Helpful books: Stop Dating the Church. Joshua Harris
What is a Healthy Church? Mark Dever (copies available in the chapel office)

This note is not particularly Covenant-oriented, but I wanted to make sure people know that they can watch all the plenary sessions of the Gospel Coalition’s Conference online live. At 2pm CST today, Tim Keller is speaking, followed by John Piper, Phil Ryken and Marc Driscoll. It’s a wonderful lineup of speakers–check it out if you have a chance today, tomorrow and Friday!

On Wednesday and Friday of this week, we’ll hear from four seniors about their experiences at Covenant, what God has taught them, what they have learned over the past four years. In general this year, we’ve heard more from our students during chapel, as during almost every student-led chapel, a student has shared something God is teaching them.

This week, Lydia Jones, Will Kendall, Hoi Yuk Pang, and Nick Thornton will speak to our community, and all of their testimonies should be online shortly thereafter.

The mountain is in bloom, even after a few days of snow flurries earlier this week! Spring semester always seems to fly by so quickly, with Spring Break and now Easter break. I know students are feeling the pressures of the end of the semester, as they seek to be faithful to their calling as students and figure out summer jobs and opportunities, as senior complete major projects for graduation and consider their next steps.

We still have some excellent chapels coming up to finish out the year. We’ll hear from seniors in a few weeks as four of them will share what they’ve learned during their years at Covenant with the whole student body. Chaplain Messner will finish up his series on Mark, and Dr. Nielson will end the year on April 27.

However, the first speaker after Easter break is Dr. Anthony Bradley, Assistant Professor of Apologetics and Christian Ethics at Covenant Seminary.

We’re looking forward to having Dr. Bradley speak on campus, and share a time of discussion over lunch with a small group of students. These lunch gatherings with outside speakers provide wonderful opportunities for our students to learn through questions and conversation on a variety of topics.