Why I Go to Church

It is Saturday night.  My Sunday school lesson for the 4 and 5 year old class is planned.  The girls' dresses are laid out.  My purse and Bible are near the door.  My alarm clock is set.

But,WHY!?!?

About a year ago I wrote a post about why I enjoy going to our evening church services.  I'm going to backtrack just a little bit today and tell you now why I go to church at all.  (This is probably more for me than for you.)  Marc and I have sadly begun to realize lately how many people who were "raised in the church" now don't want to go.  It has come up in many different circles: among Marc's co-workers, through Facebook comments, among family, during youth staff meetings, and in conversations with several friends.   WHY?!  As we've talked to these people, we have had to really evaluate why we choose to go.  Every church has problems.  Every believer is guilty of being a hypocrite.  American "Churchianity" is certainly not what Jesus had in mind when he commissioned the apostles to go and make disciples.  Our traditions...lingo...programs...can often detract from the real message of the gospel.  So, why do we go?!  Here is the list that we came up with:

1.  It is a command of God.  In Hebrews that we are told not to give up meeting together...and all the more as we see the day of Jesus' return approaching!

2.  We are vital parts of a body, living stones in a temple, branches on a Vine, sheep in a flock, and members of the household/family of God.  All these metaphors are straight from the Bible and they describe how interdependent each believer is among the whole community of Christians.

3.  Regular Bible teaching is foundational to our spiritual growth.  Books, blogs and sermon pod casts are great - but they don't allow you to ask questions and have follow up discussion with the author/speaker.

4.  God wants us to declare His praise to other people and with other people through singing, prayer and verbal testimonies. 

5.  It provides an opportunity for us to learn from more mature Christians.  Marc and I particularly love our interaction with  the older/wiser people that go to MFBC.  They pray for us, invite us over for meals, love on our girls.

6.  It is a place where our spiritual gifts can be put to the best use.  These gifts were given to us, not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We sin when we're not using them to build up the body of Christ.
 
7.  Going to church keeps us accountable.  Many of our closest personal friends go to church with us.  We enjoy spending time with them outside of "church hours."  They see how we get along in our marriage, how we treat our kids, what movies/TV shows we like to watch, how we spend our money and free time.

8.  We go to church to be encouraged, and to encourage other believers.  There is nothing like hearing that someone was praying for you during the week or hearing about how God is at work in someone else's life to build us up and motivate us to keep going.

9.  It is good for our children.  We do our best to read Bible stories, memorize verses and songs, and teach our children good moral values at home, but we are so grateful for the many teachers that our girls have in Sunday school, AWANA, VBS, etc.  Yes, they may wander away from the Lord as they grow older...but what is planted in their hearts right now CANNOT BE ERASED!

10.  We go to church to participate in the biblical practices of baptism, giving, the Lord's Supper, discipline, and Christian fellowship.  These are public, corporate events that cannot happen outside of a church community.

We will probably think of many more reasons to go to church, but those are enough to keep us faithful to our local congregation of believers.  Church is not a club!  (Remember this convicting video?!)  Unfortunately, many people in America today go to church with a consumer mentality.  Will I like the worships style?  Does the pastor's way of preaching speak to me?  Are there good programs for my kids?  Are the people there nice?  Etc.  It's not about that.  It's not about us.  It's about HIM and the glory He receives when His children are obedient to Him and loving toward one anther.  This is our greatest JOY!

If you have some time to listen to sermons this week, I recommend this one by John MacArthur on the importance of our personal involvement in a local church, and this one by Francis Chan about being a real Christian.  (His horse manure/feather duster illustration is particularly convicting!)

And - if you can add a reason to our list, please leave a comment.