For just a few moment, try to imagine the following scenarios:
You want to live a healthy lifestyle but you only eat once a week
You want a great marriage but you only talk to your spouse once a week
You want to function well but you only sleep once a week
You want to get paid but you only show up for work once a week
You want to excel at sports but you only practice once a week
You want to graduate but you only attend class once a week
You want to impact your child’s life but you only parent once a week
I know what you are thinking: once a week is not enough! You can’t do any of these things once a week and expect to thrive. The results would be disastrous! Your health would fail. Your job would be terminated. Your marriage and family would fall apart. You would be kicked off of the team. You would never get that degree. Each of these examples highlight how there are many areas in our lives that require regular and intentional effort. You really can’t do anything that’s vital just once a week.
What about gathering with the church?
Gathering with the church is important. Church attendance is important because the church is God’s own design, not man’s idea. Jesus himself said, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). Being a part of a local congregation of the Lord’s church is central to God’s plan. Christianity isn’t meant to be a solo experience (i.e., “me and God”). We are called to be a body (1 Corinthians 12), a flock (John 10), and a temple being built together (Ephesians 2). Christianity is inherently communal in nature. It’s impossible to live out these striking metaphors alone—they all assume our connection to other believers as an active participant in the local church.
Sadly, a lot of Christians struggle with attendance. Many Christians seemingly feel that attending church once a week is enough. In many places, Christianity is more of a cultural identity than a deeply lived faith. Getting dressed up and going to church on Sunday is seen as a culturally normal duty to fulfill, and that’s about as deep as Christianity really gets for some people. Others feel stretched too thin by work, sports, and family obligations, and they believe they don’t have time for anything more than Sunday morning worship. Perhaps the true problem is that we are failing to understand the actual purpose of the church.
But church attendance is important. It matters to God that his people gather together (see Hebrews 10:24-25), and it should deeply matter to each of us. Local churches and their leadership must teach on valuing church gatherings beyond the Sunday morning service. We must emphasize the importance of community and participation in the life of the church. The local church is meant to be something so much bigger than an event to attend on Sunday morning; it’s meant to be a life shared together.
For the next few moments, I want to share with you some key reasons why we should gather with our local church and participate in church activities outside of the Sunday morning worship service.
1. Spiritual Growth
Our faith needs to be fed often, not just once a week. Most churches have activities planned throughout the week, month, and year to help feed our faith. Regular and deep connections with other believers through avenues like Bible studies, prayer meetings, and other activities help us grow stronger. These special times challenge us to grow in our understanding of Scripture, and they equip us to live the Christian life with a mature faith. In Acts 2:42, we learn how the early church was devoted to growing, maturing, and fellowshipping with one another. Interestingly, they didn’t just meet together once a week on Sunday morning. According to Acts 2:46-47, they were meeting with one another every day! They needed their faith to be fed regularly, and their example shows us we need ongoing opportunities to grow together too.
2. Relationships
Life is full of challenges, and God has designed the church to be a family where people care for one another, encourage each other, and hold each other up. Hebrews 10:24 reminds us that regularly gathering with God’s people gives us the opportunity to “stir up one another to love and good works.“ We need one another, and we can’t get those things alone. Meeting outside of the Sunday morning assembly builds real relationships, and these relationships are there to help us when hard times come our way. It’s impossible to have the kind of Biblical relationships God intends for us to possess with our brothers and sisters if we only see them on Sunday morning at worship.
3. Accountability
Satan loves isolated Christians. Have you ever thought about that? When you take a coal away from the fire, it immediately begins to cool down and lose heat. Similarly, when you take Christians away from God’s church, they begin to lose passion and spiritual wellbeing. Satan delights when God’s people are isolated. But gathering with the church keeps us under the influence of the Lord’s teachings, it surrounds us with encouragement, and it helps guard us from deception and drifting. Ongoing connection with other believers also creates opportunities for accountability. When I am connected to others, they can clearly see when I begin to drift and come running to my rescue (cf. Galatians 6:1-2; James 5:19-20).
4. Participation
Worshipping together on Sunday morning is important. However, worshipping together isn’t the only purpose of the church. There are many other aspects of the Christian life—like serving the needs of others, evangelizing the community, doing good works, and using our spiritual gifts—that cannot happen in just an hour of worship. Regular gatherings and extra congregational activities give us opportunity to do, not just sit in the pew. If we only show up for worship on Sunday, we are downgrading Christianity into a mere event to attend when the church is meant to be something so much more. Many view the local church as a place to receive (i.e., a sermon, worship, maybe some encouragement). However, the local church is ultimately a place to belong and serve (cf. Romans 12:3-6; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Peter 4:10).
Conclusion
Is church attendance importance? Absolutely! Is gathering with the church on Sunday morning a priority we should take seriously? Certainly! However, attending once a week is not enough. You can’t do anything once a week and expect to thrive! Gathering with the church is not just a good suggestion, it’s a command in the Scriptures. We cannot live the Christian life alone, and we deeply need the strength, love, encouragement, belonging, and spiritual nourishment given through the local church. We need time with God’s family beyond an hour long worship service on Sunday morning. We would do well to make it a priority to gather, study, serve, and connect with other believers as often as we can. Gathering and participating with your local church is more than a box to check—it’s about truly being the church and being a part of God’s family!