Sermonette: Do I have to go to church?

Before becoming a pastor in 2020, I worked as a Children, Youth, and Family Minister for a couple of decades. One of the things I loved best about ministry with kids and youth was the amazing questions they asked. One of the most frequent questions, especially with older youth, was, “Do you have to go to church to be a Christian?”

My immediate response was always, “Great question!” which was immediately followed by the inner thought, “Why are you asking?” Are you wondering about the requirements of God’s love for us? Are you worried about the soul of a loved one who opts out of church? Are you wanting permission to sleep in on Sunday mornings?

This common question brings up the obvious recent change in our society regarding regular church attendance. Clearly, many people have asked themselves this same question, and have decided the answer is “no.” As a result, the definition of “regular church attendance” has changed. It used to mean attending religious services every week. Nowadays, when people answer yes to the question, “Do you attend worship regularly?”, they mean something more along the lines of attending once per month. Acknowledging and wondering about this societal change is important as we return to the original question. Do you have to go to church to be a Christian?

My answer: NO, AND.

NO. Of course you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian. You can love God and believe in Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross without regularly attending Sunday worship.

AND. Here’s an interesting truth to consider- Christians don’t only go to church. Christians are the church. The Apostle Paul writes, “You are the body of Christ.” He makes it clear that we who believe in Jesus are one body in Christ Jesus, and he also states, “We are individually members of one another.” The church, from the very beginning was about gathering, being together. Church, by its very nature is about “we.” Church is community. Together. And so we gather.

AND, church is the place where we are reminded each week how much God loves us. We are reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus, the example of Jesus, the call of Jesus for us to get busy blessing the world in His name. Church is the place where we enter deeply into Scripture, and hear the word preached by those called to pastoral ministry. At church, we are loved, welcomed, accepted as we are. At church, we are also challenged to love more, give more, and to show more grace and mercy to others. We are taught to love others, serve others, forgive others. We are challenged to use our resources of time and money, not just for ourselves, but for the good of this world that God so loves. At church, we are comforted, healed and called to be our best selves.

All of that in about an hour on Sunday morning. That’s a lot of good stuff. Now of course, we Christians are not perfect, but we come back week after week and we keep trying to love like Jesus. We return again and again to hear the Good News that God loves us and has saved us from our imperfection. So, be the church. Come to church. We’re open every Sunday.