The church is a topic that I feel tends to get brushed over a lot lately. People will tell you they love Jesus, and I’m sure they do, but they say that they don’t attend any sort of church See there is this spiritual hunger in people’s lives, but there is also a tendency to move away from the church. There are a lot of reasons that young people are turning away from the church, but today I am going to talk about a few reasons that Paul says in Ephesians that we need the church in order to proclaim the gospel.
Why go to church?
A lot of people are frustrated with churches because they feel they are being judged, or they don’t think the people in the church aren't genuine. We have to remember that even with all of our differences there is one category of people, and that is sinners. We need the salvation of Jesus, and that is the unity that is supposed to save us from our cultural divisions. J.D. Greaser says that we are one race, human, with one problem, sin, and we have one hope, Jesus Christ. That is why the church is so important, it brings us together through the love and belief we have in Jesus Christ.
How involved should we be in the church?
Paul reminds us that the church is how He works in the church, and that we need to be as involved to the extent that we want God to work in our lives. Each person in the church is an essential part of that community, God works through each individual differently to create a diverse place for us to go to when we need comfort, and peace in our hearts. If you disconnect yourself from the church, you are essentially disconnecting yourself from God. We need the community of people He provides for us in the church to help us along the way. Attend small groups your church holds, serve when the church needs help, try out a mission trip, or volunteer with the children or youth ministry. Most churches have something to get involved of outside of just going to the service every Sunday. It is important to get involved in those groups!
What does a healthy church look like?
What proves that God is at work is when our unity shows in our church community. When we are united around our great love for Jesus Christ despite any differences in race, or political sides. We have to get comfortable with being a little uncomfortable. That is what community is about. If we want to do God’s work as his people then we have to be comfortable with sharing our hearts with others.
What does a healthy church engage with outside?
Ask yourself this question. What would Jesus do in the community? We should be proclaiming God’s word in our cities! There are too many unreached people groups out there to not be proclaiming the gospel at all times! Someone brought you into the church so why not connect others? If you look at yourself as God’s primary instrument for his kingdom then we have to be involved in our church communities.
To have spiritual hunger is an amazing thing, and to want to learn more about our savior is key to having a relationship with him and preaching the good news to others. We need the church though to help us grow in our relationship with Him. We need a community pushing us along. To help us answer any questions we might have, to help us work through difficult and trying times. That is why the church is so important! If you're reading this and you don't have that church community I challenge you to go out and shop around for a church that you feel challenged in and that you think you can grow in! If you are already part of a church I challenge you to find new ways to get involved in that community and find out how you can better serve the church!
