Have you ever wondered why you should attend church?
Perhaps you feel that the sermons are boring, or you can’t seem to relate to the others who go there. Or worse, they seem like a bunch of hypocrites. Why should you waste your time in a stuffy church building when you can worship God on your own?
It’s a fair question.
Thankfully, there are good answers.
The first thing we need to recognize is that we may be looking in the wrong direction for answers. Who is church about? You and me? Or God?
If church is about you and what you can get out of it—or if it’s about me and the mistakes I’m making—then we might as well quit this charade called church.
But if attending church has to do with our amazing heavenly Father, who loves you and me more than life itself, then, well, … I want to be there!
Why Did God Establish the Church?
The Bible tells us that God created the church to fulfill three important roles:
1. Fellowship: 1 John 1:3, 4 says that God invites us to koinonia with Him and with our fellow Christians so that our “joy may be full.” Koinonia is a Greek word that means community, intimacy, shared life, or connected living. God established the church to give us the fullest, happiest experience of friendship possible. Read about the koinonia life in Acts 2:40–47.
2. Proclamation: There are millions of people who don’t know that God loves and wants to save them. Our job as a church is to proclaim the good news to everyone we meet. We are “His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
3. Service: Sin causes way too much pain in this world. As God’s church family, we have an opportunity—a calling, actually—to engage with the world around us and alleviate suffering. We are to “loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free” and to share our bread with the hungry, bring the poor into our house, and clothe the naked (Isaiah 58:6, 7).
Church is not about you or me. It’s about spending time with God and His people and fulfilling the mission He has given us. Honestly, there is no better place to be!
But …
What if your church isn’t anything like the church the Bible describes? Wouldn’t it be better to worship God on your own? Or out in nature?
There are definitely times to step away and spend one-on-one time with God. Jesus did this regularly (Mark 1:35; 6:30–32), but it was also His “custom” to go to the synagogue each Sabbath (Luke 4:16). Attending church should be our custom too.
What if the sermons are boring, the people in the pews are more concerned about politics than proclamation, and no one seems to care even a teensy bit about helping others?
Then perhaps God is calling you to be like David, the young man who wouldn’t back down before the biggest giant that Israel had ever seen. Spend time on your knees seeking God’s guidance, declare that the Lord is on your side, then get a friend or two and run toward the problems—not away from them. Find ways to engage with the sermon and learn all you can (try putting your phone away and really listening), start a small group Bible study, or organize an outreach. This “battle is the LORD’s!” (1 Samuel 17:47).
What if you’ve been hurt by people in the church?
Sadly, we will all be hurt in church at some point. There are moments in church I’d rather not remember and hurts I’ve had to forgive. The church is made up of sinners—including you and me—who make mistakes and wound others. We can’t prevent all the hurts, but we can choose to keep our eyes on Jesus and forgive those who hurt us. Please note: There are times when a church may not be a safe place for you, like when the doctrine is unbiblical or someone at that church is abusing you. If so, please find a church community in which you can worship God safely.
Still not sure you feel like attending church?
Tell God about your feelings and ask Him to change them so you can truly say: “How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. … For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:1, 2, 10).