Why Bother with Church?
Sunday mornings are often the only time you may get to lay low for a couple of hours and enjoy that second cup of coffee. Sometimes it’s those few hours that provide the mini margin to get a few things done like mowing the lawn or catching up on laundry. Kids often have sporting practices Sunday morning.
Going to church can sometimes feels like an unproductive use of those precious few hours. There are often good answers to the “why not go?” question.
- Too busy / Too boring
- I don’t know anyone there / it’s lonely
- It’s not important
- I got hurt there
- I feed my spirit myself
- I need the down time
- It’s not relevant to my life
- I have to work
Does the Bible say we have to go to church?
God’s word doesn’t tell us to get to church, but it does say this: “do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together”. It connects this with spurring one another on toward love and good deeds. It connects it with holding unswervingly to the hope we possess. It is an important part of persevering in our faith and drawing near to God (Hebrews 10: 19-25).
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Getting together with other believers is one key way that helps us keep our eyes on “him who is invisible. It’s how we “fill up” our spiritual tank and find God’s peace and strength to face the challenges of life. It’s how we sharpen our spiritual edge and where we can receive as well as give encouragement. It’s the way we are drawn back to God from the busyness of life.
But it doesn’t have to be on Sundays.
It doesn’t have to be in a church building.
If you are a Christian who has abdicated church attendance I’m not here to try to send you back with a guilt trip. But I do want to encourage you to find fellow believers around you and make a plan to get together with some regularity.
- Seek out spiritual conversations with them.
- Ask questions about what God is teaching them these days.
- Share where you are at in your faith journey even if you are at an erosion point.
- Agree to each read a good book that will spur your faith and share what you learn with each other.
- Use email to connect and pray for one another.
- Subscribe to the same email devotions and compare insights.
If you have no fellow believers in your life to begin the conversation about faith and God then the best place to find some will be in your local church.
Finding a community
But you don’t have to go Sunday morning. Find out what happens there during the week and visit a couple of smaller group activities. It’s not nearly as intimidating as a Sunday morning can be and it can often fit your schedule more readily.
Ask God to help you connect with one or two like -minded people to begin to get to know.
Without the regular encouragement of others who know Jesus, and especially if you have allowed your own Bible study and prayer times to dwindle, your spiritual life WILL erode. You will feel the drift and the unsettled feeling deep within.
Is your faith important enough to you that you want to persevere in it?
Start today to combat the spiritual erosion of your heart. Ask God to give you a fresh desire for Him and for His word. Ask for a connection with someone else who will encourage you in your faith walk.
Don’t be robbed of the deep peace and joy that God intends for you to experience in relationship with Him and with fellow believers. It’s worth fighting for!
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Hi Jenna, all the replies shows there is a travesty in 21st century perspective on the faith, most are just programmed and cloned to a group.
a lot of gatherings(though they flatter their group with the name of church) are cults with human leaders not churches(the church is human beings who are called out to Christ’s kingdom) Christians are Jesus’s deciples, pastors are under shepherds and if not submitted to the true shepherd and the word of God they are but servants of themselves and the devil, even the devil can quote the bible. I’m always refreshed when I meet a true Christian who loves Jesus, Paul the apostle never sought out glory or money or built large buildings on people’s finances but was more concerned to present those he spoke to pure to Christ.If anytime someones tries to put a burden on you, remember the Lord’s words to his enemies of the faith: you place burdens on men’s shoulders and will not help with the load, but Jesus’ words are: my yoke is easy and my burden is light. All manner of the faith must lead us and make us hungry for Jesus, for all ministries are but vessels to keep us looking unto Jesus, anything otherwise is either a cult or is coming in their own name using the name of Christ to win the gullible sheep.
i too find that going to church “fills my spiritual gas tank” for the week. it literally helps me tocope with what is to happen durignt the upcoming week. I als found that it has strengthen my belief in God and my tolerence level is abit more relaxed. I have faith that those of you out there who have had dificuty finding a church home, will eventually find one. In the mean time my best advise would be that you continue to pray, and know that God is always with you.
Jenna, I am sorry for your experience. I have had similar experiences where if you want to join a church, not only do you have to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and His Resurrection and Him being fully God and fully man, and in the truth of the Bible – so far so good, but you also have to accept that denomination’s teachings on certain things that I think are more open to interpretation, write a big ole letter about your Christian experience, provide references — jeepers! You would think you were applying for a job. Some of them are actually titled “Application for Membership,” as if it were an exclusive club. I find smaller churches to be, um, “pickier” than the mega-churches. You might try a big church. With that many people you can come and go as you like, get involved as you like, without someone breathing down your neck. They also have more activities, more support groups, more service times where you can dip your toe in and see if you like it. After years of haphazard church attendance, I do love going to church now – it fills up my spiritual gas tank for the week, especially the praise and worship, and I get to pray with other like-minded people.
If you don’t like going to church, watching a good pastor on TV can be very helpful and inspiring, so can reading some good devotional books. You can be a Christian all by yourself, but there is great comfort in having a few good friends who share your faith to pray with and offer support and encouragement from their own walk. You can meet them at bible studies or other activities, but you don’t “have to” go to church. Someday I pray that you will find a “want to” church. God bless you!
Jenna, I have had exactly the same experiences as you. I find Christians will try to help, but when they realise that they can’t do a quick conversion, they drop you like a hot coal.
Jenna, it’s hearing stories like yours that remind me that churches need to be more welcoming. It’s so sad to hear that you were treated so badly. I hope that my own church would never do that, but I know that as sinful peoples we are all capable of doing such things. I was once told that if I found a perfect church, I shouldn’t join it, because I’d ruin it. That’s probably true!
I can’t speculate on why you were treated so ungracefully by this church. What I can say for certain is that God has not said “no” to you. Maybe it’s not the time for you to start attending church right now but God will never forsake you. There are daily online chats on this website that you can try instead of attending church for awhile, or if you prefer you can chat with someone one-on-one.
Hi Jenna, I am sorry that the churches you tried were lacking. Remember God loves you and wants to help you in all ways. Please try again, don’t let the bad manners of a few keep you from your God given destiny – that is to be the best that you can be! Gods laws are simple, love one another! You are in my prayers, keep searching, you will find your home and unlimited treasurers there.
I tried to find my lost faith. I attended several churches. I met with two ministers. I was set up with a lady to help me answer my questions. I met with her on faith, but she soon told me she was not willing to work with me as “i was refusing to just do it”. I found, at every church, they are not willing to give a person some breathing room to begin to find Jesus and learn. They make demands. Literally make demands, requirements, which they teach in a required class, and if one isn’t at that point yet, still new to trying to learn, you are told you cannot join their church. Is this a new thing? I took one of those classes, on the same day I attended this church for the first time, and after being told the demands expected of me, the booklet ended with “if you cannot do these things then you came to the wrong place”. i never went back. But I have found every church does this.
I cannot be allowed a chance to accept Jesus and grow and learn, but am forced to give slave labor to their inner circle. I tried several churches, same at them all.
I gave up. I have to assume God has said no to me. The bible does say “many are called but few are chosen”. Chosen. The people I reached out to shut me out. I did not find God there.
Yes..Yes I say!!! It is not so easy for some of us to go to “church”. Though I want to go to church. I think i have wanted to for a long time…I was called to God a long long time ago. I missed the boat big time!!. Now many years later i have nothing… and came to this website and found Jesus…REALLY!!! found Jesus. Now after i have lost everything..including myself, I have found that my soul..which belonged to Satan.. now belongs to Jesus and God!! Sounds so simple dosent it. I find that now Satan is more powerful than i ever thought. Now i am weak and “FIGHTING” only its not so easy. I have severe depression and major anxiety…i dont leave the house except for doctors and meds and once a month i can get to the grocery store. It usually takes me a day or two to get “ready” for it. I have to take extra medication to accomplish this. Usually not much joy. Somehow though..i always meet people at these places that..need my help. Maybe its just holding the door for them or giving them a smile. Its one more way i can tell Satan ..”go bite yourself”.