I am sure you have figured out by now that our family embraces the Christian faith. We believe that faith is active and part of an active faith for us is church attendance. We do not go to church as a way to maintain a checklist of good activities.
Why We Go To Church
1. To experience worship with others in the Body of Christ
Yes, worship is a daily and continual part of the Christian’s life. However, we feel the Bible teaches that worshiping with others is necessary to abundant life. Corporate music and prayer are vital to our Christian growth.
2. To experience fellowship with others in the Body of Christ
We love to hear testimonies from others in our church and to stay afterwards to visit with them. We have a wonderful church family, and we love to catch up with them and share their burdens and joys.
3. To encourage others in the Body of Christ
Everyone in our church plays a part whether it’s to give others prayer support, send cards of encouragment, help with cleaning and maintenance, do administrative tasks, teach or participate in music ministry. We are a team and encourage each other through the tasks God has gifted each of us to do.
4. To support God’s Work and its continuance
Our church does not require financial participation, but we find it is an act of worship to tithe a portion of our income to the place that benefits our spiritual life the most. We feel it is taught in the Scripture, so we give out of obedience but also have been blessed by it over the years. Just as one would frequent their favorite stores in order to keep them in business, we like to give our time, our regular attendance and our finances to help our church continue to exist.
Why I Love My Church
I grew up in the church I now attend. My husband grew up in a church very similar. We have attended the same church all our married life. Here are our reasons:
1. We agree with its doctrine.
This is of course the most important reason to attend a church. Its teachings must agree with the Bible. I have attended here all my life, but my pastor father encouraged us to be familiar with other doctrines. I personally attended a school of another Christian doctrine and have taken classes taught by a very devout Catholic who infused her religion into many of our discussions. I also have become acquainted with a few religions I would consider cults because of friends who are involved or formerly involved in them. I firmly believe, however, that the best antidote to being settled in doctrine is to immerse oneself in the Scriptures. If something comes into question, the Lord brings verses to my mind to settle the issue in my heart.
2. We love the style of worship.
Some people love formal worship and some love casual worship. There are churches all over the spectrum between these two extremes. Ours would be somewhere in the middle. We are traditional in the sense that we mainly use piano and organ in our music, sing hymns and use limited technology in worship. We also refrain from casual activities in the church building such as preparing and eating food, selling products and sports activities.
However, our worship style is also very casual in that we allow the worship to be Spirit-led. We have an order of service led by the pastors, but if a member of the congregation wishes to stand and exhort or give a personal testimony, we encourage it as long as it is done “decently and in order” and is edifying to all. If someone wishes to make a prayer request at prayer time or request a song during the music time, they may do so. We pray corporately so no one has to feel they are praying as a display to others.
3. We love our church family.
Many of the older people who attend our church remember me as a child. A few of them even remember my parents as children. They have become godly grandparent figures to me. I also benefit from the people of my parents’ generation and my own as well as from those who are younger than me. It is truly a family where all contribute.
4. We have great leadership.
It may seem obvious that I appreciate our leadership because our senior pastor is my father and my brother-in-law is the assistant pastor. However, I have lived with my father and would know any faults better than the average church member. And, we all know the stereotypes of in-laws. 🙂 However, both of our pastors have wisdom and a depth when preaching and teaching the Word of God and a genuine love for the people. They are not dictatorial, but very much like shepherds of the church.
We attend Bible study every Wednesday evening and have Sunday School and two worship services on Sunday. We also have weekly meetings twice a year with special music and speakers as well as a VBS for kids in the summer. Our family is there every service we are able. We don’t want to miss meeting with our Lord as a church family.
Your Turn: What do you enjoy about your church?
Again, I’ll skip the resources because I am a little biased and would only recommend my church. 🙂