Why Go to Church?

March 26, 2024

Tuesday

Church attendance isn't what it used to be. Though I don't have evidence for my belief, I don't believe the reasons given for people stopping their attendance  is the popular excuses for why people don't go to church.

I don't believe that most people have stopped going to church because the church abused them. Make no mistake. Churches have abused people. I just don't think that people were so shallow that they stopped coming because they were abused. (I am not talking about sexual abuse here.) Most people are resilient. They understand that mean people go to church with the nice people. They understand that mean people do not represent the church even though they may be the leaders in a particular church. Sure, hurt people may change churches but they didn't abandon church because they were hurt in one church.

I don't think people stopped going to church because they church didn't call them when they were absent. Yes, they were absent. No, they weren't called. But most people take responsibility for their own actions. The members of the church didn't tell them to stay home. Absent people made that decision on their own. They know they shouldn't need someone calling them week after week to get them to come back. People don't want to be the reason so many members can't reach people who really need to be in church. They know that the efforts to get them back in church will keep people from being able to reach the unchurched.

Most people understand that they don't need to be made special to attend church. They may not have been welcomed when they first arrived. The church may have an unfriendly vibe but that doesn't mean that it is the only church in town. They could easily go somewhere else.

That's also the story of hearing a boring preacher. So, this one is boring. There must be one down the street who isn't. It is only a matter of time and visiting new churches that will lead them to the right one.

No, I don't think it is any of these "reasons" even though some of the non-attenders may claim these are the reasons. I believe the most common reasons are:

They haven't made a connection in a church yet. People need friends who will encourage them. They won't find them in every church. Sometimes they give up before they find people they can make connections with.

Many people are afraid to attend a church because they don't know what to do. It seems that everyone else knows when to stand and sit but they don't. Everyone else knows how and when to respond. They just don't want to be embarrassed.

Some people have no reason to attend church. They may say that they are Christians but that goes along with being patriotic. They can spout off their political views, their patriotic views and even touch on some faith just as well in their local bar. Why go to church when the bar is a whole lot more fun?

There are some people who are busy on Sundays. They genuinely have to work or have worked right up to Sunday morning. Sundays are not protected days from work like they used to be. They don't even think of coming when they have the opportunity because that is their day off.

My last reason is: It never occurred to them that they needed to be in church. Sure, church is a nice thing to do but it is never necessary. Laying around on Sunday is much easier.

The real reason people need church is to know the Lord. They can come to know Him without the church but they need others to stimulate them to grow in the Lord. They may know Him casually but they will never know Him intimately without others who will help them.

They need to know that others are just like them. All believers fail. I had a ten year old tell me this morning that he was not doing everything he was supposed to do as a Christian. He thought that he would be perfect after his initial coming to Christ. I encouraged by telling him that none of us has reached perfection. We are all on this journey together.

People need a reason for practicing their faith. Their relationship with the Lord grows more solid as they encourage others. Church is a wonderful place to help others along in their faith.

People need church because the church offers something the world can never offer them: Peace. It is offered because it comes from a living Lord who gives it to them.

Church also offers people rescue. Who will take your troubles to the throne room of God if not for the church. God is always where your help comes from. The prayers of others will help bring you there.

There are lots of reasons people aren't in church. There is probably someone you know that isn't attending church right now. Maybe you need to get beyond their excuses and listen to them. Maybe you should invite them. Caring people make a difference.

Hebrews 3:12–14 (NASB 2020) ¹² Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end,