1. We must be at church in order to be obedient to God’s Word and encourage others.

Scripture specifically tells us not to forsake assembling together with other believers. Rather, we are to come together regularly to encourage and serve them. Hebrews 10:24-25 exhorts us to “consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (NASB). 

We aren’t told in Scripture that if you’re growing enough on your own, just skip the assembly of believers. Or, if you can more conveniently get the Word without having to physically go somewhere, skip it altogether. In fact, that passage in Hebrews doesn’t imply you’re even at church to grow spiritually. It implies you’re growing on your own, and you meet with one another regularly to encourage each other.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/PixelCatchers 

2. We are to link up with other believers to offer and exercise our spiritual gifts.

If you don’t attend church because it’s not challenging you, or because your kids’ needs aren’t being met, or because you can worship God on your own anywhere or anytime, you’re missing an important element of why the church exists. It is for you to link up with other members of the body and use your gifts. Because of this principle, you are indispensable when it comes to the proper working of the church. 

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 tells us: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who works in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (NLT). When you are absent from the physical body of Christ, a part of the body is missing and hurting.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/SDI Productions 

3. We need to be sharpened and fine-tuned by other believers in the church.

When a professional is out of sync with other experts in his field, he gets rusty. Likewise, when you and I are out of conversation with other believers, our theology and thinking get rusty as well. And when you’re no longer praying aloud or among a group of individuals, you begin to feel more self-conscious doing so. The local church keeps you sharpened as a believer in a number of ways. 

Other believers hold us accountable, keep us walking in purity, fine-tune us when we’re getting out of tune theologically, and lift us up when we fall spiritually. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 elaborates on this: “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken” (NLT). 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/ skynesher

4. Regular church attendance keeps us obedient when it comes to giving and serving.

I remember talking with a woman whom I no longer saw regularly at my church. She told me she was attending a women’s Bible study at another church in town on Mondays, her son was attending a youth group at a different church on Tuesdays, her husband was involved in a men’s group at a third church in town on Wednesdays, and the two of them weren’t going anywhere together on Sundays. 

While the body of Christ is not limited to one certain church, the problem was that the emphasis for this family was on what they each were getting, rather than giving, when it came to the body of Christ.  While they were attending and consuming the various programming and offerings of different churches in town, they weren’t serving or giving of their time, talents, or treasure to any of the churches. We are to be committed to a local church in order to give and serve as a way of being obedient, uplifting others, and not just taking for ourselves. 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Maskot

5. The Church helps us reflect God’s light in our community.  

Jesus said we are the lights of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). The local church is the witness of God’s light to its community and culture. And our personal association with that local body of believers—through our presence and our service—helps us reflect that light. Becoming a part of your local church affords you the opportunity to be a light in this world, starting in your own neighborhood and community.

6. God knew we would need one another. 

God didn’t intend for us to isolate and be lone-ranger Christians. He created us for community, and it is within the context of community that He is glorified. There are more than 40 one-another commands in the New Testament, guiding us in how to live among other believers. That is the picture of unity in the body of Christ. 

Our New Testament command in Philippians 2:2 is also fulfilled within the context of the church as we focus on “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (NASB). Rather than isolate, we are to congregate and participate.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/PixelCatchers 

7. We need constant spiritual input.

You and I need to offset what the world is pouring into us. What goes in your ears and penetrates your heart? Ungodly lyrics you hear in songs on the radio or your playlist? Reality show TV that espouses the lack of values and godliness in this culture? Political news that angers or frustrates you? Secular viewpoints from people without the wisdom and insight from God’s Holy Spirit? 

Your ears need input that will uplift your mind and heart. When I was in college, my Great-Aunt Martha told me, “If you are not fully saturated in the Word of God, you’ll get swept away by this godless culture.” At the time Aunt Martha died, she no longer recognized her friends and family members, but she retained a full knowledge of her Savior and His Word. She was fully saturated, and God and His Word could not be taken from her, even when age and disease took everything else. Be in a place where you will continue to hear, talk about, see, handle, and sing the Word of God. It will help you hold onto what matters most. 

The local church holds a level of accountability that helps us grow and stay disciplined in our spiritual walk. We truly cannot grow to our level of maturity in Christ without the fellowship of the body of Christ. We are stunting our own spiritual growth by believing we don’t need the body of Christ to grow in Him. 

You need the church far more than you realize. And the church needs you and what you have been gifted with to offer its members. That’s how significant you are to the body of Christ. And that’s how significant it is to you. 

For more on embracing the beauty of the body of Christ, see Cindi’s book: The New Loneliness: Nurturing Meaningful Connections When You Feel Isolated.

Related Resource: Unpacking Priorities and Embracing Imperfect People

This week on Jesus Calling, we’ll hear from Melissa Ferguson, a mother of five whose love for stories and the countryside has inspired her creative life. From her family’s Tennessee farmhouse by the mountains, she writes heartwarming romantic comedies for television and children’s books. Melissa reflects on the lessons she’s learned from farm life, family rhythms, and faith—and why at the end of the day, it all comes down to keeping what’s most important at the top of the to-do list.

Later in the episode, we’ll hear from worship artist Natalie Runion. Natalie grew up as a pastor’s kid watching her parents serve their church, but found herself needing to forgive certain toxic elements that had shaped her upbringing. Today, through her ministry Raised to Stay and her writing, Natalie gives us a glimpse into how she’s helping others reconcile their love for Jesus with the realities of a sometimes imperfect church culture. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to Jesus Calling on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/northwoodsphoto 

1. We must be at church in order to be obedient to God’s Word and encourage others.

Scripture specifically tells us not to forsake assembling together with other believers. Rather, we are to come together regularly to encourage and serve them. Hebrews 10:24-25 exhorts us to “consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (NASB). 

We aren’t told in Scripture that if you’re growing enough on your own, just skip the assembly of believers. Or, if you can more conveniently get the Word without having to physically go somewhere, skip it altogether. In fact, that passage in Hebrews doesn’t imply you’re even at church to grow spiritually. It implies you’re growing on your own, and you meet with one another regularly to encourage each other.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/PixelCatchers 

2. We are to link up with other believers to offer and exercise our spiritual gifts.

If you don’t attend church because it’s not challenging you, or because your kids’ needs aren’t being met, or because you can worship God on your own anywhere or anytime, you’re missing an important element of why the church exists. It is for you to link up with other members of the body and use your gifts. Because of this principle, you are indispensable when it comes to the proper working of the church. 

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 tells us: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who works in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other” (NLT). When you are absent from the physical body of Christ, a part of the body is missing and hurting.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/SDI Productions 

3. We need to be sharpened and fine-tuned by other believers in the church.

When a professional is out of sync with other experts in his field, he gets rusty. Likewise, when you and I are out of conversation with other believers, our theology and thinking get rusty as well. And when you’re no longer praying aloud or among a group of individuals, you begin to feel more self-conscious doing so. The local church keeps you sharpened as a believer in a number of ways. 

Other believers hold us accountable, keep us walking in purity, fine-tune us when we’re getting out of tune theologically, and lift us up when we fall spiritually. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 elaborates on this: “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken” (NLT). 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/ skynesher

4. Regular church attendance keeps us obedient when it comes to giving and serving.

I remember talking with a woman whom I no longer saw regularly at my church. She told me she was attending a women’s Bible study at another church in town on Mondays, her son was attending a youth group at a different church on Tuesdays, her husband was involved in a men’s group at a third church in town on Wednesdays, and the two of them weren’t going anywhere together on Sundays. 

While the body of Christ is not limited to one certain church, the problem was that the emphasis for this family was on what they each were getting, rather than giving, when it came to the body of Christ.  While they were attending and consuming the various programming and offerings of different churches in town, they weren’t serving or giving of their time, talents, or treasure to any of the churches. We are to be committed to a local church in order to give and serve as a way of being obedient, uplifting others, and not just taking for ourselves. 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Maskot

5. The Church helps us reflect God’s light in our community.  

Jesus said we are the lights of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). The local church is the witness of God’s light to its community and culture. And our personal association with that local body of believers—through our presence and our service—helps us reflect that light. Becoming a part of your local church affords you the opportunity to be a light in this world, starting in your own neighborhood and community.

6. God knew we would need one another. 

God didn’t intend for us to isolate and be lone-ranger Christians. He created us for community, and it is within the context of community that He is glorified. There are more than 40 one-another commands in the New Testament, guiding us in how to live among other believers. That is the picture of unity in the body of Christ. 

Our New Testament command in Philippians 2:2 is also fulfilled within the context of the church as we focus on “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (NASB). Rather than isolate, we are to congregate and participate.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/PixelCatchers 

7. We need constant spiritual input.

You and I need to offset what the world is pouring into us. What goes in your ears and penetrates your heart? Ungodly lyrics you hear in songs on the radio or your playlist? Reality show TV that espouses the lack of values and godliness in this culture? Political news that angers or frustrates you? Secular viewpoints from people without the wisdom and insight from God’s Holy Spirit? 

Your ears need input that will uplift your mind and heart. When I was in college, my Great-Aunt Martha told me, “If you are not fully saturated in the Word of God, you’ll get swept away by this godless culture.” At the time Aunt Martha died, she no longer recognized her friends and family members, but she retained a full knowledge of her Savior and His Word. She was fully saturated, and God and His Word could not be taken from her, even when age and disease took everything else. Be in a place where you will continue to hear, talk about, see, handle, and sing the Word of God. It will help you hold onto what matters most. 

The local church holds a level of accountability that helps us grow and stay disciplined in our spiritual walk. We truly cannot grow to our level of maturity in Christ without the fellowship of the body of Christ. We are stunting our own spiritual growth by believing we don’t need the body of Christ to grow in Him. 

You need the church far more than you realize. And the church needs you and what you have been gifted with to offer its members. That’s how significant you are to the body of Christ. And that’s how significant it is to you. 

For more on embracing the beauty of the body of Christ, see Cindi’s book: The New Loneliness: Nurturing Meaningful Connections When You Feel Isolated.

Related Resource: Unpacking Priorities and Embracing Imperfect People

This week on Jesus Calling, we’ll hear from Melissa Ferguson, a mother of five whose love for stories and the countryside has inspired her creative life. From her family’s Tennessee farmhouse by the mountains, she writes heartwarming romantic comedies for television and children’s books. Melissa reflects on the lessons she’s learned from farm life, family rhythms, and faith—and why at the end of the day, it all comes down to keeping what’s most important at the top of the to-do list.

Later in the episode, we’ll hear from worship artist Natalie Runion. Natalie grew up as a pastor’s kid watching her parents serve their church, but found herself needing to forgive certain toxic elements that had shaped her upbringing. Today, through her ministry Raised to Stay and her writing, Natalie gives us a glimpse into how she’s helping others reconcile their love for Jesus with the realities of a sometimes imperfect church culture. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to Jesus Calling on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/northwoodsphoto