Church Attendance

Dear Victorious,

Do you go to church every Sunday? I find church such a turn off, and believe that we can relate to God just as effectively outside of church. So why bother going?

Martin T. - San Angelo, TX

Dear Martin,

Yes, I go to church at least once a week. It's a common argument that people don't need to be in church. Many think their faith can be sustained on their own. But this misses several important points - thinking that it is about the institution of the church organization - when it is not.

God commands us to be in community with each other, worshipping in an organized way, bringing our tithes to the storehouse to empower it to care for the needy, make disciples, sharpen each other, etc. In fact, that Bible explicitly tells us not to neglect our church attendance. (Hebrews 10:25) That's pretty clear.

Not attending church means that I won't get taught or discipled ... so whatever I know or learn on my own will be the totality of my knowledge and understanding. Not attending church probably means I'm not tithing. Not attending church probably means I'm not regularly worshipping God, and may be neglecting my prayer and Bible study time as well. Not attending church pretty well ensures that I won't be ministering to anyone else. Not attending church forecloses the opportunity for others to minister to me (or even to know me).

Make no mistake, churches are flawed institutions run by broken individuals. But God tells us to invest ourselves in them anyway. We need to stop making it about ourselves and stop leaning on our own understanding, and get thyself to church. It's an obedience issue.