Church Attendance Matters

I recently had the opportunity to attend a men’s retreat with about a dozen other guys.  We headed down to Junction, TX, and stayed at a small retreat.  It was a great time full of growing closer to God and fellowship with other men.  I learned that I am not as good at shuffleboard as I thought I would be, nor do I even know the official rules.  

The focus of the retreat was hearing the voice of God.  We had several sessions where we were taught about hearing God’s voice that were followed with time for us to practice and share in small groups.  The time we spent was incredible, and I think one of my favorite sessions was about hearing the voice of God through others.   

I’ve always tried to seek out men who were older than me.  Sometimes this meant just watching from a distance.  I would see how they lived their lives, and seek to emulate them.  I noticed wise men who were quick to listen and slow to speak.  And when they did—man!—the wisdom they offered.  Other times it looked like sitting in Jim Watson’s dining room traveling at a snail’s pace through Philippians and hanging on to every detail of Paul’s letter so I could try to be as filled with joy as Paul is as he sits in prison.

The weekend retreat brought up an important and sometimes neglected truth: church attendance matters.  Scripture tells us that it’s not something we should overlook.  We need to be in church regularly, not only because God is our first love, but also because it allows us to speak into the lives of others with encouragement and pass on the wisdom we’ve gained.  Believers have diverse experiences, and we can learn better when in the company of other believers who look at us lovingly.

Hebrews 10:24-25

²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The writer of Hebrews—we don’t know who it is—covers a lot of ground in this letter.  He starts by telling how Jesus is supreme over all.  He tackles the topic of justification by faith, explaining how even those who lived before Christ came were justified not by what they did, but by what they hoped for.  Chapter 10 is sometimes referred to as the “lettuce” sayings.  The writer tells us that because we have the confidence to enter the presence of Jesus let us…  

And then he gives a few commands.

The first phrase of verse 25 says, “Let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do.”  The writer is saying to the hearers of this letter: spend time together with other believers.  Don’t neglect fellowship.  Be with other believers.  When we consider that the early church was mostly made up of house churches that regularly met to worship and fellowship and translate that into today’s setting, we see that Hebrews is telling us that church attendance matters.  It is important that we not neglect being together in the body.

Why?  Why is it such a big deal that we need to regularly attend church and worship with other believers?  Consider what the writer says before and after this phrase.  What follows is “but encourage one another.”  Right before it another “let us” phrase tells us to “think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”  We need to meet together so we can encourage one another and motivate each other to love and good works!  We meet together in community—doing life together—because we need each other.

Dwell Church

The reason why I felt led to name this church Dwell Church really has two reasons.  The name comes from Colossians 3:16 which says,

“Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”  

First, we are to let the message of Christ fill us up as if we were a sponge.  This is how we gain wisdom and can teach others.  Often you will hear it said that leaders should lead from a position of fullness.  When believers are filled with the spirit of Christ, they will spill that fullness out to others.  We dwell, filling up, so we can pour out.

We can’t do the second part of this verse on our own.  It’s only through the indwelling of Christ within us and our fullness in Him that we can teach and counsel one another.  It’s only through Christ that we can have truly thankful hearts.

And that is what I hope to see in Berthoud, and all of northern Colorado.  I see a place where people come to know Christ and dwell with him, living in a community that serves together and encourages one another with thankful hearts.

While You’re At Church

When you are thinking about the purpose of being in church this Sunday consider this.  Your attendance matters because you need to be filled with the grace of Christ.  You need to dwell with the Father and know him so you can stir up fellow believers and non-believers alike in love.  

This trip was a blessing.  I look up to several of the men who were there.  I may be a pastor, but they have been walking on the road with Christ longer than I have.  They have seen things that I have only heard about.  They were able to speak encouragement to me.  They told me I was gifted to be a church planter and that this can only be a God plan.  Had they thought the words of Hebrews 10 and Colossians 3 didn’t matter, they might not have been there to be a blessing to me on this retreat.

So go to church.  Spend intentional time with others.  Encourage those who may be looking up to you.  Don’t neglect to be there and miss out on the opportunity to refresh and reassure young believers.  Be there because church attendance matters.  Be there to encourage others in their faith.