Is Church Attendance Really Necessary?

Hola Chosen! Good to be back with you…finally…right?! Lol I wouldn’t let you end the year without hearing from me. So let’s get right into our discussion…


Of course, this is not a new topic. Persons have long been debating it and we have somewhat touched on this topic before and because of its importance, I think we should revisit. Now there is a ton of information out there about why we should go to church and there are arguments for the other side too; so I won’t write you ‘12 Reasons to…’ but instead, I’ll direct you to some of what I have found and share a bit of my experience.


Photo by: Luis Quintero


Friends, you’re probably expecting me to share with you points to back up my opinion and I will, but I also like to explore things from others’ point of view as well. In doing so, I found an interesting article titled Why Attending Church No Longer Makes Sense http://bit.ly/tonotgotochurch. Firstly, the author is a pastor and he states that he can only find two compelling reasons for people to still attend church; You are the church and If you are bringing a friend with you or you yourself are exploring Christianity. I agree that those are good reasons to go to church but are they the only good reasons? Reading the article in its entirety, I don’t think the title is quite befitting; even though the writer suggests other ways to get some aspects of ‘the church experience’, his main point is the lack of engagement with the attendees. This is not the case at every church and for those churches that do have that issue, they need to refocus on the gospel.


The other side of the discussion brought me to great article called 10 Reasons to Go to Church (Even When You Don’t Feel Like It) http://bit.ly/10togotochurch. Cool title huh? This article sums up how I feel and even taught me a few new things. It explores reasons from obedience, benefits for others and personal benefits. One of the reasons I like a lot is To Exercise Your Gift. What a privilege to have a place to practice your God given gift free of charge. Another reason I like is To Participate in Corporate Worship. It is such an amazing feeling to worship God with fellow saints. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25 KJV “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” http://bit.ly/Hebrews10-25.



As you know, I am a babe in Christ and my history prior to being saved isn’t one of consistent church attendance. While I believe it is important for the unsaved to attend church, I believe it is more important for Christians to attend church. For the unsaved, I say it is important because that is the place that you are most likely to hear about God and be strongly convicted…well it should be. Don’t get me wrong, I am aware that the church is not the building, as most of the times “church” is used in this discussion I am referring to the assembly. And I am also cognizant of the fact that God can work anywhere. However, I think church should provide the ideal environment for someone to be saved. For Christians, as previously mentioned, the second article clearly outlines my thoughts.
Since I have been saved, I have been consistently attending church services at least once a week. Most of those weeks where my attendance was only once, I longed to go back and fellowship with God’s people.


Hey now friends, let’s be clear, church attendance is not something that we just want to get our gold star for; it’s just one of many steps in the right direction. However, there are times when a Christian will not feel like going to church. One day I had an experience at church that left me feeling uncomfortable and while I didn’t feel like I wanted to stop going altogether, I contemplated taking a break. I knew that was the devil working but it was still so hard to fight. I kept on going over the period of two weeks, this time I was only attending once per week mainly because of classes, then I just gave myself some excuses and didn’t go one Sunday. That left me feeling regretful and empty.  I had to make a deliberate decision to pray more and read the Word to get pass those feelings. Subsequently, I was eager to get back to church. And when I did, I was happy about it. Praise the Lord! The devil likes to use the trick of divide and conquer but if we are sober minded, we will realize this trick and make use of our strength in numbers as believers.



Chosen, I hope by now you would have gleaned my answer to the question Is Church Attendance Really Necessary? If you haven’t, my answer is yes. Simply because God said so and for the host of other reasons. I sincerely hope this resonates with you.


As a declaration, me and my house will worship in the House of the Lord!


I take this opportunity to invite you to my church, whether you already belong to an assembly, are searching for one, just would like to join me in worship or whatever your reason. Please see our information below:

Pentecostal Sanctuary UPCJ
37 Grants Pen Road / 52 Upper Waterloo Road Kingston 8 

(876) 924-2730
https://www.facebook.com/nkupcja/



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MeMe is a young Christian of the Pentecostal Apostolic denomination and is based in Kingston, Jamaica. Thoughts of a Chosen Generation will speak to young to middle age Christians, and aspiring Christians where they will get guidance for Christian living for the benefit of their spiritual and personal development. To learn more about Christianity, you may make contact using the below handle, leave a comment requesting that you be contacted or send a message using the contact form found under resources.                             
                                                               
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