- Free coffee. Thanks for reading :)
Just kidding! While I love free coffee as much as the next guy, there are so many great benefits to attending church every Sunday and seeing your “church family.” You get to fulfill your weekly social obligation! Good job, now back to the couch to watch football. Going to church also means showing how efficient you are at corralling your kids and getting them into socially acceptable clothing. Nice work, parents! Your “mom and dad of the year” awards are in the mail headed to you now. But arguably the most important part of going to church is, of course, checking off that box that you did your spiritual duty as a Christian for the week… or month. Look at you go! Time to mow the yard!
Just kidding again! I promise this article is going somewhere serious. Starting… now. You’re smart, and you probably picked up quickly that the whole first paragraph was all fun and games. But let’s be honest for a second. Ask yourself if you’ve ever actually felt that way about attending church.
“Well, I need to go. When else will I see my friends?”
“Nobody has seen us there for a month. We better make sure they know we still exist. Let’s make sure the kids look presentable.”
“I feel guilty that I haven’t been to church in a few weeks. We better go so God doesn’t forget about me.”
“I’ll do what it takes for those 4 cups of free coffee.”
Look, I get it. I know how you feel, and I know a lot of others that have felt that same way. Sometimes, you just want a break on a Sunday morning. A chance to sleep in. A chance to "catch up." I wish I could tell you why those feelings are so hard to fight sometimes. Maybe it’s because we cram so much into our Monday through Friday, that Saturday and Sunday become days we want nothing to do.
Something I’ve found over the years is that when I’m feeling too tired or too busy to go to church, it usually means I’m not making the time for what’s important in this season of life that I’m going through. Because let’s be honest again: When’s the last time you went to church and regretted it afterwards? The answer is “very rarely, if ever” right? You usually end up walking away saying, “Why don’t we go to church more?” And that’s because we leave the church always feeling better than when you showed up. You feel more calm, more whole, more connected, and more in-touch with your faith and with Jesus.
If you’ve gotten this far into the article, you probably are relating to me in some capacity. Don’t feel guilty about this – you’re not alone. There’s a lot of research out there to back this up. Research shows that people who regularly attend church report stronger social support networks and less depression. Those people smoke less and lead healthier and even longer lives. In a very real and physical way, church is literally good for your health.
I’ll take it a step further – I’m going to give a few more “surprising” ways that regularly attending church can benefit you, your family, and your friends.
- Church Can Help Us Become More Grateful in our Lives
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 106:1
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:17
The reality is: this life can be filled with difficulty and stress. We will never be able to escape that. Sometimes it feels as though there are as many valleys as there are peaks. But, scripture reminds us to surrender our worries and anxieties to God, and then to be thankful. Attending church surrounds us with people who are also dealing with the trials of today’s world, but they are surrendering those same trials to God and trying to experience the same gratitude you are. Sometimes it’s hard to look around and see your blessings through the struggles, but attending church can help us open our hearts and eyes a little more than we would on our own.
- Church Can Help Us Grow Closer to our Spouse/Significant Other
May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.
Romans 15:5
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry…”
James 1:19
Married people, this is for you. Marriage is hard. So, here’s more research to help you out. Couples who attend church together report higher levels of happiness and satisfaction within their marriage. The American Enterprise Institute also says Americans who attend church regularly are 30-50% less likely to divorce. More happiness, less divorce. Sounds like a good enough reason for me!
Regularly attending church together as a couple also simply gives a specific time every week to re-connect spiritually. Throughout scripture, we are given so much practical advice on how to operate within a healthy relationship. When both of you are on the same page in those lessons, your connection and ability to get through difficult times grows even stronger.
- Church Teaches Us Forgiveness
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven…”
Luke 6:37
The concept of forgiveness is one of the main themes throughout scripture. It is incredibly obvious and a fundamental part of the Christian faith. As much as it’s read about and discussed, both inside and outside of church, we as sinful humans have trouble forgiving others. It’s just who we are.
People hurt us. We hurt people. People disappoint us. We disappoint people. People annoy us. We annoy people. It’s a never-ending cycle. However, the one thing that can break that cycle is forgiveness. There’s no better physical place to be reminded of the gift of forgiveness that we have already received than the church. The church is filled with broken, imperfect people. The people that work at the church, as much as we tend to put them on spiritual pedestals, are also broken and imperfect people. Yet, the church thrives because of the forgiveness, and grace, that has been gifted to us by Jesus Christ.
- Free Coffee
I had to come back to it. I love coffee.
- Church can Give Us a Community
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17
I’m writing this article from my office at Sunnybrook Community Church in Sioux City, Iowa. At Sunnybrook, we firmly believe that life changes happens best when you’re surrounded by community similar to yourself. When you engage in fellowship with friends or a small group, you are in a community of believers who can love you through the hard times, hold you accountable when you need discipline, and can pick you up when you’re down. That community can be very difficult to find when you’re not regularly attending church.
My wife and I were going through some of the hardest times we’ve ever faced in the fall and winter of 2019. We had been married for just over a year, and we were feeling the pressure of making “real adult decisions” for the first time ever. We were very close to making the decision to move away from family almost 4 hours away, just because felt like we “needed a change of scenery.” That feeling came because we weren’t surrounding ourselves with the right people, and we felt isolated and alone. We were asked to join a small group with people from Sunnybrook Community Church. That small group very literally and very quickly changed our lives. It gave us the group of friends and the group of believers we needed to surround ourselves with. We did not move, and we’ve seen enormous fruit from the decision to stay and find the right community.
C.S. Lewis said “Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice… about a place to live, I think I’d say ‘sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.’” Luckily for us, we don’t necessarily have to sacrifice everything to be near friends. Jesus already sacrificed everything for us. That also gave us His church, where we can be with faithful and believing friends.
This Sunday, go to church. Get more connected. And get some coffee.
Cover photo by Akira Hojo on Unsplash
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