"Attending Church: It's a Lifestyle"

Attending Church – It’s A Lifestyle

There will always be obstacles to attending church.

Maybe you work or have sports practice on Sundays, you don’t think church is necessary, or you just want to relax after a stressful week. Whatever obstacles you face, you will be blessed for choosing to follow God’s commandment to worship at church.

A few weeks ago an online post from a major ministry struck a nerve when it stated the necessity of church attendance for your growth as a believer in Christ.

It’s surprising to me how many Christians struggle with the idea of church attendance. We are at a crossroads in our nation on the importance of going to church.

According to research, church attendance has remained virtually the same percent of our national population for the past 70 years, however, this still means there are a huge number of American Christians who are not active in a local church – in the tens of millions.

Here are 4 powerful reasons why you should attend church weekly, and why church attendance can change your life:

#1 – Simply put, the Bible tells us we need to attend church so we can worship God with other believers and be taught His Word for our spiritual growth. The early church…

Acts 2:42 (NLT)

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

We should follow that example of devotion—and to the same things. Back then, they had no designated church building, but every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. Wherever the meeting takes place, believers thrive on fellowship with other believers and the teaching of God’s Word.

#2 – Church attendance is not just a “good suggestion”; it is God’s will for believers. Of course, this isn't a new problem. Since the beginning of Christianity, the early leaders had to challenge this mindset, saying

Hebrews 10:25 (NLT)

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.

Even in the early church, some were falling into the bad habit of not meeting with other believers. The author of Hebrews says that’s not the way to go. We need the encouragement that church attendance affords. And the approach of the end times should prompt us to be even more devoted to going to church.

#3 – Church is the place where believers can love one another, encourage one another, “spur” one another to love and good works, serve one another, instruct one another, honor one another, and be kind and compassionate to one another.

#4 – When a person trusts Jesus Christ for salvation, he or she is made a member of the body of Christ. For a church body to function properly, all of its “body parts” need to be present and working

1 Corinthians 12:14-20 (NLT)

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.  15  If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body.  16  And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body?  17  If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 18  But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.  19  How strange a body would be if it had only one part!  20  Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.

It’s not enough to just attend a church; we should be involved in some type of ministry to others, using the spiritual gifts God has given us. A believer will never reach full spiritual maturity without having that outlet for his gifts, and we all need the assistance and encouragement of other believers.

For these reasons and more, church attendance, participation, and fellowship should be regular aspects of a believer’s life. Weekly church attendance is in no sense “required” for believers, but someone who belongs to Christ should have a desire to worship God, receive His Word, and fellowship with other believers.

It is for our own good that God want us in fellowship with other believers. We need each other to grow up in the faith, to learn to serve, to love one another, to exercise our spiritual gifts, and to practice forgiveness. Although we are individuals, we still belong to one another.

Tony Evans shared recently, “There is something better. To worship God together and be committed to worship Him together, to hear His Word together. Do not reduce Church to listening to a podcast. It’s so much more than that. It’s community. It’s worshiping with other, praying

for others, hurting with other, serving others, being involved in the lives of others.”

Need One More Reason to Go to Church?

Jesus Christ, our living example, went to church as a
regular practice.

Luke 4:16 (NKJV)

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

It was Jesus’ custom—his regular practice—to go to

church. The Message Bible puts it like this, “As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place.” If Jesus made it a priority to meet together with other believers, shouldn’t we, as his followers, do so also?

Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Church, and we are “like living stones . . . being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. As the building materials of God’s “spiritual house,” we naturally have a connection with one another, and that connection is evident every time the Church “goes to church.”

A popular Christian social media catch-phrase is, “You don’t go to church, you are the church.” While I get the sentiment in some ways, this is an unhealthy view, pitting “being the church” and “going to church” against each other. If we are truly “the Church,” then we will surely get together with other believers regularly. We cannot “be” the church, if we don’t “go” to church. Not fully anyways. The “Church” never connotes a single, individual, lone ranger Christian just going about his Christian duties, and never gathering together to worship with other believers. The “Church” by it’s very nature means multiple believers.

Matthew 18:20 (NKJV)

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Don’t let excuses stand in the way of what you know God is calling you to do. God will strengthen you, and empower you to do what He has called you to do. I am praying for you — if you have encountered past wounds from leaders or from church members — that God will bring healing and grace to you, as you seek to follow Him, and love His Church.