One of the fastest growing groups of Christians in America are those who don’t go to church on Sunday.  These folks may come to church for a special seasonal service on Easter or Christmas. They may show up for a friend or family members baptism, wedding, or funeral. They may periodically pop into the church of their childhood to see if anything has changed. However, for the most part, this increasingly prevalent group of people who identify as being Christian don’t attend any specific church on a weekly basis.

Why is that?  That can be a hard question to answer as different people ultimately have different reasons for their absence from church.  When I ask Christians why they don’t go to church, I am often met with some of these reasons:

• I don’t need to be in the “4 walls” of a building to be at church.
• I can stream the service on the internet.
• I’m not very religious like those “bible thumpers” at church.
• Most church types are hypocrites who are extremely judgmental.
• It feels fake.
• When I went to church, people spread rumors about me and gossiped.
• Church people are not accepting of my lifestyle.
• They have too many rules that aren’t in the bible.
• It’s my only day off from work and I want to sleep in.
• It can be awkward to be put in a position where you are encouraged to confess your sin and expose your secrets publicly.
• The music is too loud and I don’t care for the style of music.
• The pastor got caught up in a scandal and I don’t trust pastors anymore.
• All they want is money.
• They are too political.
• They are too “Americanized” This one is for my immigrant friends.
• The service and preacher are really boring.
• The service is too elaborate and entertainment oriented.
• My favorite football team plays their games at the same time as church.
• I believe in Jesus and want to go to heaven, I just don’t want to do this church thing.

Truth be told, there have been times when I have used some of these reasons to justify skipping church.  There was a long stretch of time when I was guilty of only attending church for special occasions.  I have felt that church is boring and fake and that it’s just about money and controlling the thinking of the masses too.  I have witnessed pastors get caught up in (sexual) sin scandals, and churches cover up crime that has occurred under it’s watch.

Then one day I realized something very important that has changed my life: Church isn’t about me, it’s about Jesus.  For the longest time I was caught up in what church had to offer me. I evaluated church like I evaluated a car I wanted to purchase. I looked at all of the amenities to see if they would make me comfortable.  Then I thought about it, was Jesus comfortable during his 32+ years as a man walking earth? Did Jesus drive a Lexus into heaven?  Biblical Christianity isn’t about comfort, and the local church does not exist to satisfy your every desire.

All of a sudden it sunk in and made perfect sense.  If church is about Jesus, it doesn’t matter that the pastor isn’t a perfect man. It doesn’t matter that the music is too loud.  It doesn’t matter that the guy sitting next to me at church thinks I’m a punk because I have a tattoo. It doesn’t matter that the pastor is a Republican or Democrat (as long as he worships Jesus). It doesn’t matter that the worship band has a guitar instead of the organ I (you) grew up with.  When you come to the realization that the local church does not exist to fulfill your every desire, but instead exists to please and worship Jesus, it will change your life.

Stealing from the old JFK adage ” ask not what your (church) can do for you – ask what you can do for your (church)”.  Church isn’t about you, it’s about Jesus. While it’s true that church isn’t about you, the local church has a ridiculous amount of stuff to offer you. Your local church affords you the opportunity to serve Jesus by serving your neighbors. The local church enables you to get plugged in to your community to help the poor, sick, hungry, and vulnerable. The local church puts you together with fellow (sinners) to work through life and aspire towards godly living.  The local church equips the Christian with the ability to preach the Gospel to all nations (the great commission).

The local church allows you to participate in corporate prayer.  The local church funds food banks, homeless shelters, prison ministries, and countless other organizations that need money and volunteers to operate. The local church opens its doors to the community by offering affordable preschools and hot meals for the homeless.  The local church helps poor folks keep their lights on.  The local church helps people during crisis situations.  The local church is invaluable to the local community.  There is a reason why Non-Christian people send their children to the local church preschool.  There is a reason why local governments give the local church a seat at the table (despite separation of church and state).  It’s because the local church is a pillar of the community.

Just to be clear, this isn’t just my opinion either.  Read what the author of Hebrews writes:

“24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near”. Hebrews 10:24-24

All throughout the bible there are stories of people meeting together for organized worship (church).  The author of Hebrews makes a direct correlation between attending church (frequently) and love, good works, encouragement, team work, and unity.  The Christian is never more like his/her savior than when he is serving his local church in this capacity. You can’t feed the homeless while sitting on your couch.  You aren’t clothing poor kids when you throw $5 into the bin when you attend church on Easter.  You aren’t fulfilling Jesus command to make disciples of all nations when you have the attitude that “you got your ticket to heaven and that’s all you need”.

Pick a local church and stick with it.  Forget about all of those negative experiences from the past that have left a bad taste in your mouth.  Don’t neglect meeting together any longer.