Have you ever wondered why Christians should go to church if they can just read their Bible?
Imagine if you were on a sports team, and one of your teammates never showed up to practice. They are on your roster and come ready to play in the game, but they never show up to practice. Yet, their excuse and reasoning for not showing up to practice is that they don’t need to come because they are still on the team. That would be silly! Of course, showing up to practice may not take them off of the team, but this player would miss out on bonding with teammates, practicing plays and improving their skills in community with one another, and in the game, the team as a whole would be less prepared to make plays involving the player because they have not practiced these plays together prior to the game. So, sure, attending practice does not make a player a member of the team, but as a team member, the player should attend practice.
In a similar way, going to church does not make you a Christian, but as a Christian, you should want to go to church.
Church is not a building, but it is your team of believers. Like a player who never attends practice but only shows up to games, you don’t want to be a Christian who enters the gates of Heaven without opening the doors of His church.
First, the Church is not just a building you go to worship in on Sundays, but the Church is the global team of believers you join when you become a Christian. And, as Christians, it is a gift to have a team of believers running the same race as you and seeking to follow Christ as you are. Neglecting to go to your local church is missing out on the opportunity to go to “practice with your team.”
In fact, Paul writes in Ephesians 2:19-22 that when we place our faith in Christ, we become citizens of heaven, and, as citizens of Heaven, we should live on earth united with one another as we live a life that points others to our Heavenly Father.
Second, as citizens of heaven and members of “Team Jesus”, God gives us the gift of community with one another, and His design for this community is for believers to come alongside the mission of the local church. And this mission is found in Acts 2:42, where the very first church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” As believers, we miss out on the community God desires for us when we neglect to take part in our local church. God desires for believers to meet with one another regularly (Hebrews 10:24-25), worship Him together (Psalm 95:1-2), and support and hold one another accountable (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10), and by coming alongside the local church, believers fulfill God’s design for the local church and meet in community with one another. The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone, and the local church is God’s gift of community to His people.
Lastly, not only has God saved you from something, but He has saved you for something, and He has given you spiritual gifts He wants you to use to serve His church and reach others with. You are not called just to consume from the church, but you are called to contribute to the church. Just like there are many positions on a sports team with different players who have different roles and strengths, we each have abilities that God has given us to serve the church.
In 1 Peter 4:10, Peter shares that God has given us spiritual gifts to serve one another and to bring glory to Him. God created you just as you are for a reason, and this reason is for you to use your life and your gifting to honor Him. Church is a way for you to discover the spiritual gifts God has given you and to serve His people.
Church is God’s gift to His people, and as members of “Team Jesus”, we should be active participants in our local church by engaging in community with other believers and using our gifts and talents to serve.
Written by Megan Jewell