What to Look For in a Church

I am not going to lie: it has been very hard for us as a family to navigate the waters of feeling church homeless for the last 3 years since we left our church of two decades. We have visited all kinds of churches in search of a better situation. It can be tough out there. Really. This has led me to thinking a LOT about what to look for in a church. I receive a fair number of letters asking for advice on this issue, including what to look for in a biblically faithful church and how to know it's time to transition to a better situation. I'm going to offer some VERY practical and specific ideas.