Is attending church on a regular basis important?

[MydaughterMyfriend]

We are all less than perfect and I have felt the same way in churches also. Just keep following the voice of His Spirit and He will lead you to the right church.

 

[MydaughterMyfriend]

double post...

 

[JTLauder]

I was just thinking the other day, why there aren't any "church reviews".

There are all sorts of review websites for technological devices, restaurants, hotels, books, etc. But I haven't heard of any site that reviews churches. I don't mean church denomination, but physical church bodies in different cities, so you can check it out before you even visit them.

Anyone know of anything like that existing?

 

[RebeccatheGreat]

I was just thinking the other day, why there aren't any "church reviews".

There are all sorts of review websites for technological devices, restaurants, hotels, books, etc. But I haven't heard of any site that reviews churches. I don't mean church denomination, but physical church bodies in different cities, so you can check it out before you even visit them.

Anyone know of anything like that existing?

That's a great idea. I can't even find church's with their own websites to check out before attending, much less a review site. that would be so helpful!

 

[New_Wineskin]

I was just thinking the other day, why there aren't any "church reviews".

There are all sorts of review websites for technological devices, restaurants, hotels, books, etc. But I haven't heard of any site that reviews churches. I don't mean church denomination, but physical church bodies in different cities, so you can check it out before you even visit them.

Anyone know of anything like that existing?

I thought that was a given ...

My "church" is such-and-such . My review on the church __________ ( fill in the blank ) :

We are right and _________ is wrong . End of review .


Whoever is doing the review will look at the group being reviewed through the doctrines of their own group . If they are pro-this or anti-that , they will give praise or criticism of the reviewed group by way of those this' and that's .

 

[rosiecotton]

I was just thinking the other day, why there aren't any "church reviews".

There are all sorts of review websites for technological devices, restaurants, hotels, books, etc. But I haven't heard of any site that reviews churches. I don't mean church denomination, but physical church bodies in different cities, so you can check it out before you even visit them.

Anyone know of anything like that existing?

Actually there is one, but I can't remember what the site is now!!! I'll try to find it or remember what it was. (though when I looked a lot of the churches they had visited were methodist and catholic). It was interesting to read.

 

[Lightbearer3]

http://www.churchangel.com/welcome.htm

 

[Lightbearer3]

I typed in "church reviews in Georgia" and Google brought up churches that had been reviewed for my state.

 

[MrsSeptemberPenguin]

I personally think it is important to go for a couple reasons. God wants us to fellowship with other believers. It is good to worship in a group, it is good to learn from those who have more knowledge of scripture, and it is good to have to be held accountable by other church members. God made all these things so we can improve in our walk with him.

 

[JTLauder]

I thought that was a given ...

My "church" is such-and-such . My review on the church __________ ( fill in the blank ) :

We are right and _________ is wrong . End of review .


Whoever is doing the review will look at the group being reviewed through the doctrines of their own group . If they are pro-this or anti-that , they will give praise or criticism of the reviewed group by way of those this' and that's .

Well, bias can be true of reviews with anything. Just look at some supposed "reviews" with books on Amazon. Sometimes with nothing more than "I love it" and no further explanation.

I would think some meta information regarding the review and reviewer would be in order. Such as how long has the person been attending the church or was it just a visit, person's denomination and personal leanings, etc.

I did try Googling for "church reviews" in my local cities, but nothing significant came up.

 

[FollowTheLamb]

In Eph. 4:11-16, Paul gives us a reason to attend church. He says that God gave us evangelists, pastors, and so on in order to equip "the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." When I am by myself, reading the word or other good books, I am not really edifying someone else. I am getting a lot of knowledge, but I am not living like Christ and going out to others.

God gave us gifts of ministers to teach us to minister. I grew up as a loner. I know what it is to be shut in with my books and TV. I stay the same person. But I changed when I went to a small fellowship where you couldn't help but bump into the same people over and over. Then I began learning things I couldn't get in the books or the Internet. If you do not interact with others, then you won't know what I'm talking about. It is easy to talk to others on the Internet than to have the courage to go up to strangers and talk to them.

I am deaf, so it is doubly hard. But I find more grace when I do the impossible and go against myself and go out to people. It is just not the same on the Internet. It is too safe here. Go out to the people. Talk to someone you've never met before. Share a verse or a thought with the person next to you. Be a vessel the Lord can use next time you visit.

You are not too small. You are not so great a sinner that the Lord can't cleanse you and use you. Don't think you don't have it in you to minister to others. All of us have to start somewhere. Listen carefully and respond to the message you hear. Speak it to the person next to you and ask for their opinion. Share again and see where it leads.

 

[DidGodWeTrust]

well...it is important to be around a body of believers. To have someone to guide you through your walk i.e a pastor. It is , I believe, AS important to belong to a small group also. To have more of personal group of fellow believers. It is too easy to be give into temptation with goin to a group setting. Remember WE are the body....the Church. The building is the place the Church meets.

 

[FollowTheLamb]

"Remember WE are the body....the Church. The building is the place the Church meets."

What does this have to do with the discussion? God has a wonderful vision of His church--a living, breathing body of believers who lay down their lives to help others in love. And it can only be done as it says after those verses, to put off the flesh and put on the new man. Jesus makes this wonderful vision possible for every believer in a small group or large.

 

[Lightbearer3]

In Eph. 4:11-16, Paul gives us a reason to attend church. He says that God gave us evangelists, pastors, and so on in order to equip "the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." When I am by myself, reading the word or other good books, I am not really edifying someone else. I am getting a lot of knowledge, but I am not living like Christ and going out to others.

God gave us gifts of ministers to teach us to minister. I grew up as a loner. I know what it is to be shut in with my books and TV. I stay the same person. But I changed when I went to a small fellowship where you couldn't help but bump into the same people over and over. Then I began learning things I couldn't get in the books or the Internet. If you do not interact with others, then you won't know what I'm talking about. It is easy to talk to others on the Internet than to have the courage to go up to strangers and talk to them.

I am deaf, so it is doubly hard. But I find more grace when I do the impossible and go against myself and go out to people. It is just not the same on the Internet. It is too safe here. Go out to the people. Talk to someone you've never met before. Share a verse or a thought with the person next to you. Be a vessel the Lord can use next time you visit.

You are not too small. You are not so great a sinner that the Lord can't cleanse you and use you. Don't think you don't have it in you to minister to others. All of us have to start somewhere. Listen carefully and respond to the message you hear. Speak it to the person next to you and ask for their opinion. Share again and see where it leads.

This is so wonderful and I can tell by your post that it is from your heart. God bless.

 

[Lightbearer3]

Many times we get off into the legalistic side of things and tend to forget the blessing of fellowship. There have been really good points from both sides of the coin in this thread; and I thank each one of you for sharing your views on this subject. If we go back and look at these posts we can see geniune responses about how people view gathering together as a body of believers and the reasons others have for not attending.

The pros so far:
fellowship
helping/teaching new converts
corporate worship
gaining strength from the Word
giving strength to those who are weak
Prayer
meeting the needs of others
obedience to: not forsaking the gathering of the saints
Having a Pastor, a sheperd to lead us
Various ministries to be involved in
making Friends
Taking communion with other believers.
Bringing in tithes and offerings
Bringing those to church who don't know Christ
so they can hear the gospel
Having a more effectual/larger range in ministering
Being accountable to other members of Christ's body
Builds knowledge and relationship of/with God



The cons listed so far:
Not having nice clothes
Being hurt by people in a church
No need for fellowship because we are the church
Being confused by doctrines, not knowing which church/doctrine is right
Feeling unworthy to attend, imperfect or hipocritical.
Locating the right church to attend after moving
Being isolated, far away from a church



I hope I listed them all...

 

[4thefuture]

Let me start by saying I haven't attended church in quite awhile. I've always felt that my love for the Lord is strong, and that my relationship with the Lord wasn't in any way dependent on whether or not I went to church.

That said, I think I've been missing out on some fabulous Christian fellowship by not attending church. I think I've been missing out on the opportunity to surround myself with people with similar values and beliefs as myself.

While I don't think church is a requirement to having strong faith, I think it provides an avenue for friendship and fellowship that should be added into the equation.

 

[JTLauder]

Let me start by saying I haven't attended church in quite awhile. I've always felt that my love for the Lord is strong, and that my relationship with the Lord wasn't in any way dependent on whether or not I went to church.

That said, I think I've been missing out on some fabulous Christian fellowship by not attending church. I think I've been missing out on the opportunity to surround myself with people with similar values and beliefs as myself.

While I don't think church is a requirement to having strong faith, I think it provides an avenue for friendship and fellowship that should be added into the equation.

This is the problem with our Western individualistic society--we have lost all sense of the importance of the community. Church, which I'm using in the broader sense of fellowship with other believers, is not only for the edification of ourselves, but for the edification of others and the communal worship experience.

If all mature Christians felt like they no longer "needed" church for their faith, then from whom do new Christians learn to walk in the faith?

 

[FollowTheLamb]

Attending church is not as important as participating in church.

 

[New_Wineskin]

While I don't think church is a requirement to having strong faith, I think it provides an avenue for friendship and fellowship that should be added into the equation.

Well , good luck in finding even *one* group that has that in their meetings . The vast , vast , majority have the people come in , sit facing a particular location ( most looking at the back of others' heads ) , hear one or two speak ( no conversation ) , sing , and then leave . Even when they allow "fellowship time" , it is a very small percentage of the meeting .

The only groups that I have known that allow any major percentage of fellowship in their scheduled get-togethers are house churches . And , a lot of them also have little fellowship .

 

[Un2ChristTheKing]

Church does not decide whether you get into heaven. IF you believed and trusted in God with your heart, soul, and mind. Then you ARE going to heaven. Now don't get me wrong. Church is an extremely important part of Christianity. It helps build your knowledge and relationship with God. He is the ultimate decider of our destiny..


To God Be The Glory,
Un2ChristTheKing