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Why It's Important to Go to Church

As a pastor, I am continually amazed at the trend I am seeing within the evangelical Church regarding attendance. It used to be, not even 5-10 years ago, that the average church-going family attended church almost every Sunday of the month. Today's church-going family, however, is a different breed. The average family now attends church 2 times per month. If you are above average, congratulations!

For the pastor who is tasked with leading a church and providing a spiritual direction to the life of the church, this kind of irregularity is incredibly frustrating and challenging to navigate. It is nearly impossible to create continuity and foster a reasonable level of understanding within a teaching series if someone only comes once or maybe twice. Trying to recruit volunteers to support the vital ministries of the church proves to be nearly impossible and creates frustration for other volunteers who give many hours of service, as well as adds the workload of continual recruitment for leadership. Keeping the fellowship informed is also challenging. Even when utilizing four to five different communication platforms, it's not uncommon for someone to not be at church for two to three weeks, and then show up on week four to be surprised by what is going on.


The Scriptures do not deal exhaustively with the issue of church attendance. We find a couple of valuable teachings, however, that provide more than sufficient foundation for this statement: neglecting the fellowship of believers produces an anemic faith. 

The first teaching, and most obvious comes from Hebrews 10, where the writer simply states:

"And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." (Hebrews 10:25, NLT)

From this passage, we can gather a few teaching points. First, the neglect of attending church is not a new thing. Apparently, as Hebrews states, it was happening then, as well. Second, the meeting together discipline is a time of mutual encouragement. One of the repeated laments a pastor hears is the lament of feeling down, being alone, discouraged, feeling left out. The fellowship of believers is a place where these needs are met if we will engage with the body of Christ. Third, knowing that the return of Christ is on the horizon (and we look forward to that day), there is all the more reason to be disciplined in our pursuit of God's presence and our obedient living. 

A second teaching comes from Acts 2. In this section of Scripture, we are seeing the early days of the Church that was instituted by Jesus Christ. Luke writes:

"All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, and to prayer." (Acts 2:42, NLT)

There we find four key elements to the beginnings (and the successes) of the early church. They were devoted to what the apostles were teaching, which simply means they were listening, engaged, and attentively listening to what was being taught. And, more than that, they responded to that teaching. Second, they were devoted to the fellowship. There we have it again, and it's fairly clear. Third, they were devoted to sharing in meals. I preached a message one week that dealt with this passage and I simply said to the congregation: have a meal together once in a while. Enjoy one another's fellowship. This is vital to the success of any relationship, not just the relationships that exist within the church. Fourth, they were devoted to prayer. Today, prayer is more of a rescue flotation device we strap to the side of our spirituality than a discipline exercised to stay close to God. 

Perhaps you are reading this and you are one of those families that are making it to church only a couple times a month if that. Let me caution you: if you are a parent and this is what you are modeling for your children, do not be surprised when they turn their backs on God and the church altogether at some point. You are modeling for your children that this basic and fundamental function of our Christianity is not really that important. Or, perhaps you are not a parent or you are not raising your children any longer. For you, I issue this caution: your lack of discipline in this clearly important area of your Christianity is an indication of where you are spiritually and in all likelihood you are already walking a fine line between your salvation and your selfishness. 

God's requirements of us are not unreasonable, especially when we consider what he has done for us. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is simple, but it is also really hard. It's simple because we can accept the invitation to the relationship easily. Jesus invites us. He desires the relationship, we simply have to say yet. It is hard because once we are in that relationship, we have to begin to exercise discipline in order to grow and stay in that relationship.

If I go down to the local gym tomorrow and purchase a membership, that's the easy part. They want me to do that. They are glad to have me join their club. But if I never go to the gym, never work out, never take advantage of what has been made available to me, am I a gym rat or a poser? I think the answer is clear.

I also recognize that in our culture today, many people find themselves having to work on Sundays (which is the typical day of worship for most churches). This is unfortunate, but I believe the church needs to respond to this reality and offer alternatives. This is something we are working on in my context. But for many, it's not work that keeps them from coming. For many, it is sports and athletic involvement of their children. For many, it is weekend trips and vacations. For many, it is the feeling of just being tired or worn out from the week prior. For many, if one family member is sick, then the entire family stays home. All of these things are understandable as hurdles, but hurdles are meant to be crossed, not serve as roadblocks.

I urge you to stop seeing the hurdles in your life as a stopping point. I urge you to see that necessity of being engaged with the body of Christ. I urge you to model for your children and those you are influencing the discipline of getting to church and participating in what God is doing through the local body of believers, which is something Jesus instituted and gave to us as a gift and a responsibility.




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