Church Attendance

Dear Victorious,

My brother refuses to attend church. We were raised in a church, and are all believers. He had an unpleasant experience with a church many years ago, and since then has simply refused to attend any church. He claims he doesn't need to go to church to believe in God. How can I persuade him to change his view? We need him to be in church!

Cynthia F. - Springfield, MO

Dear Cynthia,

I could have written your same letter. I too have siblings who seem to have this point of view (and don't attend church). There are many things that could be said. But the first question I would have is whether or not your brother is sincerely interested in having an intelligent conversation about this. If he's not, then you'd be wasting your breath to try and talk to him.

On the other hand, if he's willing to have a serious discussion about church attendance, then you'd owe it to yourself to be informed. You cannot argue from your feelings. You must have an informed position. Let's look at some basics.

First, just because someone is a believer doesn't make them a Christ-follower. Even Satan and his demons believe in God. And just because they say they're a Christian doesn't mean that they are.

Secondly, anyone who claims to be a Christian but makes a decision to not attend any church is most likely relying on their own understanding of the Scriptures. In other words, it's probably not occurred to them that God may have a position on church attendance. So they haven't sought the truth in God's Word. They just made a decision based on their (uninformed) understanding or presumption of what God's Word might say.

The only way to counter such poor decisions is with God's Word. Scripture references abound about the significance of church attendance. I'd start with Hebrews 10:25, which simply says we are not to neglect our church meetings. Said differently, as Christ-followers, we don't have permission to miss church!

After that, I would take someone to the numerous Scriptures that speak to the reasons why God would not want us to miss church. (And they are many.) Those reasons include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Being one body, of one accord and one purpose, to serve and honor God.
2. Learning together and from each other, about God and His ways.
3. Serving each other, and serving those outside the church.
4. Acquiring intimate, God-honoring relationships with other believers.
5. Having the benefit of prayer and counsel from other believers.
6. Worshipping God with greater consistency and intensity together.
7. Getting help making and keeping God the highest priority in life.

And these are just a few of the reasons why someone should make regular church attendance a priority in their life. Here is a link to an excellent summary on the importance of church attendance: http://www.gospelway.com/church/attendance-unity.php.

Look up some of these Scripture passages that it refers to, and be prepared to share them with your brother ... when he is ready to listen. In the meantime, get informed and prepared yourself, and spend serious time on your knees in prayer for your brother and his family. Specifically ask God to soften his heart and open his mind. Ask God to give you the opportunity to speak to your brother about this, and to arrange the perfect time and place.