I was led to write the importance of planting oneself in a local church to my prayer group ladies. There are so many single moms in our midst who don’t plant themselves in, and then they expose themselves and their children to satanic baits and become very easy preys to the enemy. I pray that my message urge these single moms to be very deliberate about planning themselves into a good local church family, especially as the times are getting darker and more dangerous. 🙏

Church is School – It is really important for you to belong to a church family. There are no perfect churches like there are no perfect marriages, however it’s for your protection and benefit that you have a spiritual covering. By your obedience, your children and grandchildren will be blessed with special favor and preferential treatment during their difficult times. I say this with confidence since I am the only believer in my nuclear family. I see my family members being blessed and watched over closely by God Almighty and His angels. Therefore, if you are worried about your children and grandchildren in this increasingly dangerous world then the best thing you can do is plant yourself deeply as possible in a church family. I’d like to especially urge the single moms or sole believing-spouse in our groups – even if your children have no interest in God like my kids, they will be closely watched over because of your obedience and close affiliation to the body of Christ, the church. My children are hemmed in by God, and I feel like they are guarded by shepherd-like angels who seem to “bark” at them, the way shepherd dogs keep wandering sheep from veering too far off.

By the way, joining a church family means that you have chores and duties to upkeep the household and make it nice for all members and visitors. You will be led to help, serve and give. God put me to work at my church within a few months of joining. It’s easy to justify why you can’t serve. I thought I had very good reasons too – my husband is suspicious of the church and my faith, I have small children, I failed as a Christian, I have anger problem, I’m judgmental, harsh, depressed, easily offended, too impatient, etc. Good news – church is the perfect place to beat these negative vices out of you! It’s like a school and there are plenty of fellow students who will sharpen you and sand off the abrasive sides of you too so you’ll be smooth by the collision process. This is so that one day you’ll be the chosen rock that God chooses to hurl at Goliath to bring the enemy down once and for all.

Since joining a church family is so important; here are some good messages for you to listen to if you still haven’t found a good local church. If you truly want to be planted, then God will quickly take you to a church family since this is His Will for all his children. I think I visited about 4 local churches and when I came to PAC, I just knew that this is where I am supposed to plant myself in. It has been nearly 12 years now. Remember there are no perfect churches, like there are no perfect marriages. Still, there are some key characteristics that you need to know so you can be wise and discerning about where you plant. Please watch these two messages.

Good Pastoral Leadership: Saddleback church in California is a super-duper mega church. I found them when I discovered their pastor’s famous book “The Purpose driven life: what on earth am I here for?” It is a fantastic book if you also have this question about your existence. I learned a lot from their pastor Rick Warren. After 43 years of leading Saddleback church, he is stepping down as their lead pastor! His recent message as he was passing the baton to his next predecessor was excellent. You will learn what a pastor does day-in and day-out in a funny visual demonstration, and you will also see a peaceful transfer of leadership. In a way, as an outsider I’m happy to see that it’s not going to one of pastor Rick Warren’s children. This transfer of power to a non-family member feels more…deliberate and divine. Anyway, please listen to this message and learn what a good pastoral leadership should be like. Plus you’ll see what a very hard job it is and then you’ll appreciate your pastors more too. – https://saddleback.com/watch/adventures-in-faith-walking/commissioning-of-andy-wood-as-our-new-lead-pastor

This is another good message about what a good church leadership should be like by evangelist David Hernandez. He knows how important it is for you to get plugged into a local church family; despite that his online ministry may lose out if his followers do this. That tells me that he really cares about his online followers.

I came across this picture in my Pinterest scrolling recently. I thought it was very clever. Church is definitely like a college. Please attend your classes at the school regularly. Happy studying! With love and prayers from your librarian.