Newbie's Guide: Why church?
I’m not going to lie, it was easier writing the first two big sections of this guide than this last one. At the time I’m writing this, in 2024 in the U.S., it seems that people are largely pretty open to prayer, and it’s an easy concept to get. Reading the Bible may be a harder concept for some people, but it’s not that hard, and it can at least be done privately. But talk about going to church and you seem to get into some weeds. It seems like everyone has something to say about church, and the loudest voices are the negative ones.
Things have a way of working out funny, don’t they? Around the time I decided to write this newbie’s guide, not one, but two prominent pastors of large American churches got in trouble for serious sin in one month. Seriously. I’m sure you can look them up much more easily than you can find this guide just by a Google search. And if those two controversies aren’t so recent by the time you read this, it’ll be easy to find more.
You’ll hear negative opinions about church both inside and outside the Church. People with “church hurt” are everywhere. Some have very legitimate reasons to be hurt, such as historical offenses and/or abuse. Some just don’t feel accepted by the Church. There are many different mistakes the Church has made and continues to make.
So why attend church? Why not just read your Bible alone and listen to sermons online? Is that not the same thing, essentially? Won’t it keep you from becoming one of those Christians?
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To answer this question, we should probably go back to the book and the events that started the Church in the first place. This will involve a little bit of Bible study, if you don’t mind!
The word “church” in the Bible is first mentioned in Acts 2. This is right after Jesus ascends to heaven, and his twelve best friends (the apostles) and about 100 other people, with the help of the Holy Spirit, preach about Jesus for the first time to a large assembly of Jews:
“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers…So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:41, 45-47 NKJV, emphasis mine)
You’ll notice here that the first time the word “church” is mentioned, it isn’t used to refer to a building, a church service, or even a particular denomination. It’s used to refer to a group of people — a “body” of believers in Jesus. And you’ll notice that every time the word “church” is mentioned in the Bible, it is almost always in this manner—as a living, breathing group of people who follow Jesus. Even more so, many times, the church is referred to as the “body of Christ”, as in these verses:
“And the church is his [Christ’s] body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.” (Ephesians 1:23 NLT, emphasis mine)
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:28 NKJV, emphasis mine)
“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT, emphasis mine)
The Church, then, is not an institution, building, order of service or group of “other people” that you can opt out of joining. The Church is the living, breathing body of Jesus Christ on this earth, the group of people that He bled and died to save. And, if you are a Christian, you are part of the Church as soon as you accept Jesus into your life!
Congratulations! You didn’t even have to make an effort!
So why participate in church? Done properly, joining a church will give you a chance, as a member of the global Church, to partner up with other Christians in living your life for God. In a good church, you can find community and support for all stages of your life. You can find ways to serve and help your community, and you can be equipped to grow in your faith, to get your questions answered by real people who are also working out their walk with God, and eventually, to share your faith with other people and help the Church grow!
There are plenty of bad churches out there, unfortunately. Plenty of churches have lost their original love for God, and have become dead social clubs, or worse, have committed or assented to hurting people in various ways. But for all of the bad churches out there, and for all of the pastors who fall into sin, there are thousands of more pastors who are doing their best to live their life for God, and plenty of good, genuine churches full of real people who are sincerely trying their best to walk with Jesus. No church is perfect. In fact, every church is imperfect, because all churches are made up of people, and people are by nature imperfect. But a walk with God really is best lived out with other people. As seen in the above passage from Acts, the original Church was full of people meeting in houses and living life together. The Church was meant to be a community, and done right, community is exactly what you’ll find in church. And you’ll find your walk with God much stronger for having joined a good church community.
“This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning.”
Hebrews 10:25 TPT (emphasis mine)