Church attendance is one of the most frustrating things to address.
It’s hard not to sound legalistic: “Come to church – or else!”
It’s hard not to sound like church is about numbers: “We NEED stronger attendance, We NEED more young families, We NEED more giving!”
It’s hard not to sound like it’s being taken personally: “Is there something wrong with our service? Our music? Our topics? Our people? My sermons?”
There are no lack of reasons offered to miss church, some with more honest validity than others. Regardless of how valid they are, it takes very little time to build habits and routines, both good and bad.
Coming to church isn’t a legal obligation. It’s not about numbers. God certainly uses but doesn’t NEED our money. It’s not about the emotionally invested members or pastor. Hear what God’s Word has to say about it:
Hebrews 10 and the Gathering
“…let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
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.”
– Hebrews 10: 24-25
In the Book of Hebrews, God speaks to the Jews who have followed Jesus. Most of their people rejected Jesus as a false prophet, and so those who followed Jesus found themselves unwelcome amidst their own families and communities. No longer would they be able to gather in the Synagogues where people gathered to hear teaching, nor approach the temple, where animal sacrifices were made by priests.
Even with the hope they had in Christ, no doubt this was depressing to be displaced out of their normal places of worship. This Epistle to the Hebrews was intended to encourage them and remind them of the purpose of those places of worship, especially the Temple, where previously God’s presence would dwell securely near the people.
They no longer needed the temple priests or sacrifices! All of the previous priests and sacrifices were pointing towards the coming of Jesus. He is the final and eternal high priest, offering a final and eternal sacrifice for all times and peoples. As priest, Jesus offers himself as the sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Those in Christ have no need for a specific temple location. We are called the collective Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), being different parts of the same body. An emphasis is placed, not on visiting a physical location, but in our meeting together. Granted, it’s helpful for us to have meeting locations, physical church buildings, but an emphasis is placed on the gathering itself.
In our gathering, we do much of what the Old Testament foreshadowed: we hear teaching and preaching like in the synagogues, we offer tithes and sacrifices to God in the form of financial giving, praise, and prayers. Finally, we receive from our great high priest, remembering and receiving his Body and Blood, proclaiming that he is our new Passover Lamb which guards from death and leads us to eternal life. God’s temple presence comes to us in our gathering.
Individual Faith and the Gathering
Our faith may be individual. We cannot believe for others or have them believe for us. But faith does not remain alone, its seeds produce fruit of good works, among them being the gathering with the Body of Christ. We receive together from God, and we receive from each other, encouraging each other in our low points, reminding each other why we struggle in this race towards a greater home.
Again, there are various reasons people “neglect” the gathering of the saints. Health issues and physical limitations come to mind. We make a point of visiting these individuals to bring the “gathering” to them.
The typical Sunday morning worship schedule is not as sacred of a time as previously in many places. It may be necessary to work Sunday mornings, children have extracurriculars, vacations and trips happen on the weekends. Individuals should use reverent discretion in what displaces their typical worship time.
Alternative Gathering Times?
Since conflicts do arise, at Concordia we’ve begun offering a Monday Evening service to accommodate weekend conflicts. The service is a bit shorter and less formal, requiring little set-up or help besides the pastor showing up. But it is a time for Christians to come gather.
Sometimes we only have 5. Other times we have more, we had 17 the other week! It felt like a crowd. People were smiling, they lingered after the service and visited. It’s not about the numbers, but it’s encouraging to be gathered with a multitude and receive God’s good gifts of Word and Sacrament to us.
Make gathering with your brothers and sisters in Christ a habit, a routine. If you feel you still can’t make it, contact your pastor and talk to him about it. There may be solutions and compromises that can be made. Join with the other members of the Body of Christ, encourage others who are suffering, and be blessed by others when you in turn are suffering. We’ll all be blessed by Jesus’ presence.