We’ve all met people over the years who are believers but don’t attend church. They feel that the churches around them have failed them. They believe they have no options and that their only choice is to be a loner Christian. They would go to church, but one of ten common problems stands in their way. Here are the top 10 questions many Christians ask about the church they are considering:
- How many young people are at the church?
- How many kids are the same age as my kids?
- How big is the congregation?
- Are there youth programs?
- Are you able to make friends easily there?
- Are there special groups and programs for me?
- What is the church’s outreach like?
- Do I personally feel welcomed?
- How close is it to my house?
- Do I like the building?
These questions reveal some seriously misaligned priorities. The common thread among all of them—the fundamental root question —has to do with how the church environment makes them feel.
They are viewing and thinking about things materialistically, like the world does, rather than spiritually. The questions they should ask about any church are whether it is faithfully reading and preaching the Word of God and administering the sacraments rightly. That’s it. Full stop.
The church is your spiritual hospital. Someone critically injured wouldn’t arrive at a hospital and start criticizing superficial aspects of the environment, would they? Would they even notice or care about the size of the building, the age of the staff, or whether the doctors and nurses appear welcoming? Hardly. Their focus would be on receiving the healing they so desperately need. They would be fixated on the solution to their most urgent, life-threatening problem. They would understand that they are there only for the medical care, and all other priorities, thoughts, and desires would fade into the background.
The Christian church is not here to minister to the greatest people on earth. You are not necessarily going to find a fantastic group of friends behind those front doors, or even people concerned with making you feel comfortable. More often than not, you’re going to find people who fail, people who hurt, and people who are spiritually and emotionally in need. You’re going to find the suffering and the lost. This is the dregs of society, not the cream of the crop.
These are people called to a new purpose, and within whom the Holy Spirit is working, but that work is not finished yet, and you might not even see it.
The Christian church is not a popular destination spot for the cool kids. It doesn’t guarantee friendship, a vibrant youth group, or an easy commute. Where is that in Scripture? Where does it say in the Bible that a God-fearing church will be a growing one, or one where you’ll feel all the right feelings? Where does it tell you to go to church for the youth group? Where does it say your commute time should be short and convenient? Show me the Bible verse that says this if you’re going to hold a church to that standard.
No, the church is there for you. You attend because you desperately need what it offers.
The fact is, you are dying.
You aren’t even guaranteed tomorrow. Your priorities should reflect that reality. “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!'”[1] Why was he glad? Because there is where you find healing, there you find peace, and there you find your Lord and your God.
[1] Psalm 122:1
