This morning I have a question rattling around in my head and pricking my heart. “Is church membership, attendance, and participation really that important?” Maybe you have asked this question at some point. Perhaps you are secretly asking yourself some variation of this question right now. If so, you are not alone. A quick look at church membership and attendance numbers in America will show that, even if people say they believe in Jesus, they don’t act like church is important to them. The short answer to our question is, “yes…and no.”
First, for the “no.” Belonging to an institution or participating in a religion is not important in the eternal scheme of things. If that is how you see church membership, attendance, and participation, then you are excused. If we approach church purely from a sense of duty, obligation, or religious ritual then we are completely missing the point. Don’t get me wrong, duty and obligation have their place (and one can argue religious ritual does as well). But they are empty and powerless on their own. The husband that kisses his wife each morning out of duty alone does not honor his wife or testify to their love. The same can be said of the wife who each evening asks her husband how his day has gone not because she cares but because she feels a sense of obligation. Who wants to have such a relationship? If that is how you approach church, then no one would fault you for not investing much in it. Thank God that there is so much more!
Now, for the “yes.” There are so many reasons to answer, “Yes, church membership, attendance, and participation is very important!” I can’t cover them all here so I will try to point to some of the most important reasons. First, grace through faith in Jesus alone is what saves a person from sin and transforms a one into a Christ-follower (Ephesians 2:8-9). Clearly, church membership does not save anyone. (Side note: that is why there are plenty of unsaved people at church. Are you trusting in Jesus alone as your savior or do you depend on your good works?) So, why invest in the local church? Three reasons: Treasure, Family, Mission.
Treasure. The Bible describes something amazing happening inside people who follow Jesus. They begin to value God more and more. In fact, Jesus describes it like a man who finds a buried treasure of unparalleled value. So the man sells everything he has so that he can by the land which contains the treasure. When we follow Jesus we begin to value God more than we value anything else. The expression of this is worship. When we highly value God, we want to proclaim His value to others and with others. Church helps us do that. We get to gather with other believers to celebrate the worth of God. Worship is about God, not about us. If worship has little meaning to you, explore how much you value God. If you can think of better ways we can worship God together, share your ideas with us. (Isaiah 26:8-9)
Family. We see over and over in Scripture that God puts followers of Jesus together for important reasons. These local groups of believers are to function as a healthy family or as a body made up of equally valuable but diverse parts. I know that a healthy family is the exception rather than the rule in today’s society. But Jesus brings us together so that we can protect, support, encourage, and grow each other. We celebrate together, we bear each other’s burdens, we meet needs, we serve, and we share our resources. If you are a believer in Jesus, then you have much to benefit from a healthy church family. Likewise, you have much to contribute the family. Even if you are a tough guy who “doesn’t need anybody,” there is a role for you in the body. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Mission. When we are called to follow Jesus, He gives us a mission: “make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to obey my commands.” This is not a mission that is just for pastors or elders or missionaries or Sunday school teachers or other “special” people. This is a mission for every believer. Furthermore, it is a mission that is so weighty, so risky, so important, that it takes believers working together as a team to accomplish the task. Jesus puts local churches together so that we are stronger together than we are apart. Your strengths cover my weaknesses and her experience offsets his inexperience. One person’s courage emboldens another who is fearful. We are a team and we have a mission. Taking yourself out of the battle not only hurts you, it weakens us all. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
