Is Church Attendance Necessary?
Do I really need to go to church? Is church attendance necessary?
Wrapped up in this simple question, we actually find several layers that we need to unpack. First, we must begin with another question: necessary for what? Necessary for salvation? To be a Christian? Necessary to have a good walk with the Lord? Necessary to mature as a Christian? What is necessary really depends on the end goal of your question. So let’s tackle these one by one.
Is church attendance necessary for salvation? Can I be saved/be a Christian without going to church?
Presumed in the question is that church attendance means going to a physical gathering in a building/space where a Christian service of some sort happens. In short, church attendance is not necessary for salvation or to become a Christian. Jesus meets us where we are. We are accepted as God’s children, not because of anything we do (including going to church), but because of the work Jesus has done for us on the cross. In the same vein, once we become Christians, we don’t maintain our “Christian status” by attending church. That would be to rely on our own works as a means of maintaining our salvation rather than trusting in the work of Christ that has already been accomplished for us. There will be people in Heaven who weren’t regular church attenders.
Is church attendance necessary to grow in my faith? Can I be a “mature Christian” without attending church?
It is possible, to a certain extent, to grow and mature as a Christian without attending a local church. I say to a certain extent because it really depends on how you define maturity. If you consider having a lot of knowledge of the Bible maturity, you can learn a lot of Bible knowledge on your own. Where you will lack, however, is in the application of that knowledge, which is really the true mark of maturity. We can know a bunch of numbers and calculus formulas, but if we don’t know how to properly apply them, can we really say we have mastered calculus? A wealth of knowledge is not synonymous with maturity. A better measure of maturity is proper application of knowledge (namely, wisdom). So yes, you can grow in your knowledge apart from church attendance, but your growth will be stunted and incomplete without being connected to a local church.
There’s an important clarification we need to address here. In our last question, we presumed a definition of church attendance that isn’t wrong, but it’s also incomplete. “Church attendance” is more than just showing up to a physical gathering. The church is not a location, but a group of people who have been saved by the work of Jesus on the cross. These people gather together at a specific location and participate in “church activities”, but church is not the location or the activities. Thus, true attendance isn’t just about being in the physical presence of God’s people, but rather engaging and participating in the life of the church (the people). Maybe a better term would be church involvement or engagement. This means attending services, serving in the church, having relationships with church members, etc.
Let’s circle back to the question and revisit it with a bit more clarity. Do I need to be actively involved in a church to grow and mature as a Christian? To be frank, yes. If you are going to apply the knowledge the Lord is revealing to you, you can’t do it without the church (people). Jesus says that all of the law and prophets are summed up in this: Love God and love people. (Matthew 22:37-40) You could argue that you can love God on your own. But you can’t love others on your own. It requires knowledge of others and care and compassion for others. You can’t love someone you don’t know. You can’t serve them and imitate Christ to them without engaging with them to some extent. And God says if we don’t love others, we don’t love Him (1 John 4:20-21). There are roughly 100 “one anothers” in the Bible and about 59 of them are directly speaking about relationships between Christians within the church.
Inherent in the question “Can I grow/mature as a Christian without being involved in a local church” is a faulty/immature way of thinking. The question is me-focused; it’s all about what I gain from the church. It doesn’t consider God’s purpose for the church or consider the needs of other Christians in the church. It is solely focused on what benefits me, myself, and I. And that’s a very unhealthy spot to be in as a Christian. In fact, I would encourage those with this mindset to take pause and consider what Christ has saved you from, what he has saved you to, and how he calls you to live in light of your salvation. Christ doesn’t just save us from Hell (although that is absolutely true). He saves us to a glorious present and future spent together with Him and His people, not as individuals, but as the Church of the Redeemed. And he has called us to take part in the mission of bringing forth that glorious, eternal kingdom.
With all of that in mind, let’s ask one final question regarding church involvement.
Why should I be an active member in a local church body?
In summary, attending church is not necessary for salvation, but it is necessary for growth, maturity, and obedience as a Christian. Attending church isn’t about what we get personally, although there are numerous personal benefits of attending church, but rather about worshipping God as His people and walking in obedience to His perfect and good plan. We love God by loving His people and working together with them to bring Him glory.God has given you specific gifts to bless others with and they are to be used in conjunction with others’ spiritual gifts. None of us individually is equipped for all the work the Lord has for the Church to do. He has given each of us gifts and skills that work together to advance His kingdom and that glorify His power and name (e.g. Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). We participate in a local church because God intends for us to work together to accomplish the work He has called us to.
Wrapped up in this simple question, we actually find several layers that we need to unpack. First, we must begin with another question: necessary for what? Necessary for salvation? To be a Christian? Necessary to have a good walk with the Lord? Necessary to mature as a Christian? What is necessary really depends on the end goal of your question. So let’s tackle these one by one.
Is church attendance necessary for salvation? Can I be saved/be a Christian without going to church?
Presumed in the question is that church attendance means going to a physical gathering in a building/space where a Christian service of some sort happens. In short, church attendance is not necessary for salvation or to become a Christian. Jesus meets us where we are. We are accepted as God’s children, not because of anything we do (including going to church), but because of the work Jesus has done for us on the cross. In the same vein, once we become Christians, we don’t maintain our “Christian status” by attending church. That would be to rely on our own works as a means of maintaining our salvation rather than trusting in the work of Christ that has already been accomplished for us. There will be people in Heaven who weren’t regular church attenders.
Is church attendance necessary to grow in my faith? Can I be a “mature Christian” without attending church?
It is possible, to a certain extent, to grow and mature as a Christian without attending a local church. I say to a certain extent because it really depends on how you define maturity. If you consider having a lot of knowledge of the Bible maturity, you can learn a lot of Bible knowledge on your own. Where you will lack, however, is in the application of that knowledge, which is really the true mark of maturity. We can know a bunch of numbers and calculus formulas, but if we don’t know how to properly apply them, can we really say we have mastered calculus? A wealth of knowledge is not synonymous with maturity. A better measure of maturity is proper application of knowledge (namely, wisdom). So yes, you can grow in your knowledge apart from church attendance, but your growth will be stunted and incomplete without being connected to a local church.
There’s an important clarification we need to address here. In our last question, we presumed a definition of church attendance that isn’t wrong, but it’s also incomplete. “Church attendance” is more than just showing up to a physical gathering. The church is not a location, but a group of people who have been saved by the work of Jesus on the cross. These people gather together at a specific location and participate in “church activities”, but church is not the location or the activities. Thus, true attendance isn’t just about being in the physical presence of God’s people, but rather engaging and participating in the life of the church (the people). Maybe a better term would be church involvement or engagement. This means attending services, serving in the church, having relationships with church members, etc.
Let’s circle back to the question and revisit it with a bit more clarity. Do I need to be actively involved in a church to grow and mature as a Christian? To be frank, yes. If you are going to apply the knowledge the Lord is revealing to you, you can’t do it without the church (people). Jesus says that all of the law and prophets are summed up in this: Love God and love people. (Matthew 22:37-40) You could argue that you can love God on your own. But you can’t love others on your own. It requires knowledge of others and care and compassion for others. You can’t love someone you don’t know. You can’t serve them and imitate Christ to them without engaging with them to some extent. And God says if we don’t love others, we don’t love Him (1 John 4:20-21). There are roughly 100 “one anothers” in the Bible and about 59 of them are directly speaking about relationships between Christians within the church.
Inherent in the question “Can I grow/mature as a Christian without being involved in a local church” is a faulty/immature way of thinking. The question is me-focused; it’s all about what I gain from the church. It doesn’t consider God’s purpose for the church or consider the needs of other Christians in the church. It is solely focused on what benefits me, myself, and I. And that’s a very unhealthy spot to be in as a Christian. In fact, I would encourage those with this mindset to take pause and consider what Christ has saved you from, what he has saved you to, and how he calls you to live in light of your salvation. Christ doesn’t just save us from Hell (although that is absolutely true). He saves us to a glorious present and future spent together with Him and His people, not as individuals, but as the Church of the Redeemed. And he has called us to take part in the mission of bringing forth that glorious, eternal kingdom.
With all of that in mind, let’s ask one final question regarding church involvement.
Why should I be an active member in a local church body?
- Do you believe God loves you and only has good plans for you (Romans 8:28)? Well, he has given you the church, and he has called you to take part in it because it will build you up and encourage you and spur you on. He has also given you to the church that you might build others up and encourage them and spur them on. To neglect involvement in the church is to reject God’s means of growing and maturing you and to fail to love your brothers and sisters in Christ who need you as well. We participate in a local church because in God’s good and perfect plans for us, he commands it of us (e.g. Hebrews 10:24-25, Acts 2:42-47).
- God has given you specific gifts to bless others with and they are to be used in conjunction with others’ spiritual gifts. None of us individually is equipped for all the work the Lord has for the Church to do. He has given each of us gifts and skills that work together to advance His kingdom and that glorify His power and name (e.g. Ephesians 4:11-12, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). We participate in a local church because God intends for us to work together to accomplish the work He has called us to.
- If your faith and worship of God are solely focused on you, it is an incomplete worship. It is great to celebrate all that God has done for you personally, but He didn’t come to save just you as an individual. He came to save a people for Himself. The work that He has done and is doing is far bigger than yourself. When we don’t participate in the church, we don’t hear the stories of other Redeemed sinners, we don’t get to celebrate the work that He is doing in their lives, and our worship is short-sighted. We don’t get to see the bigger picture of His glory on display. We participate in a local church because when we do, we get a grander perspective beyond our personal experiences and our worship becomes far greater and fuller.
Categories
Tags
Archive
2025
March
April
2024
February
March
April
2023
May
November
December