Church Attendance May Relate to Faith or the Two May Have No Connection
On a broader scope, I keep hearing reports that Millennials (or some other demographic) have turned from God and left their faith. What is the reason for this conclusion?
It’s simple. They’ve dropped out and no longer go to church.
Ergo they must have abandoned their faith. However, just as some people attend church and don’t really know God, others know God quite well but have given up on church.
We need to, once and for all, disconnect the assumption that church attendance equates to faith—and that regular attendance implies a vibrant faith.
To the contrary, I’ve heard many people say they stopped going to church to preserve their faith in God, that church attendance damaged their state of spiritual being more than it helped.
Don’t take my assertion that church attendance is not an indicator of faith as an excused to stop going. However, if going to church presents an unhealthy burden for you or causes you more harm than good, then perhaps you need to find a different church.
And by different church, I don’t necessarily mean a different denomination or a different style of service, but to perhaps re-envision what church is.
It’s All About Meeting Together
At the basic level church is where two or more people gather in Jesus’s name (Matthew 18:20). This might mean in a church building on Sunday morning. Or it may mean at a coffee shop Wednesday afternoon or a restaurant Friday evening.
How about a sports event on Saturday or dinner on Sunday? What about a game night or movie outing?
Before you bristle at the implication that playing games or watching movies in Jesus’s name is on a par to Sunday morning church attendance, which one offers more Christian community?
Which is the setting where serious faith conversations are more likely to occur?
When the Bible warns us to not give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25), it’s not talking about going to church. It’s really talking about meeting together.
This may mean meeting at the coffee shop, restaurant, sports event, Sunday dinner, game night, or movies.
We are not to live our faith in isolation but in community. However, we must dissuade ourselves of the notion that this community should happen on Sunday morning.
If the traditional form of church has let you down, don’t give up on all forms of Christian community.
Find one that works for you and pursue it at all costs. Your faith may depend on it.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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