4/14/2025

Churches are different in multiple ways, but whatever church a person attends on Sundays, there are some crucial things to realize.

A church is not just a place you think that if you attend God will have to let you into heaven.  It’s not just a place you attend and then “clock out” for the week when it’s over, saying, “I’ve done my duty.” 

It’s a loving spiritual family you get to belong to.  Once you become a follower of Jesus, you become a part of the family of God, not an isolated individual.  It’s a community of faith where you can love and be loved, celebrate and be celebrated.

A church is not just an entertainment center.  It’s a job center.  If you judge church services purely as entertainment, they may not match up to the level of what you may hear on TV or at a concert.  Worship in a church isn’t meant to just be a show put on for the benefit of the congregation while people sit back and just watch.  

People who are a part of a church are brought together by God to work together for God’s kingdom and to help one another to develop into more fully devoted followers of Jesus.  Get involved in helping to build God’s kingdom. 

The New Testament describes God’s church as “the body of Christ.”  Like any other body, it has a lot of different parts, but they all are important and needed.   Every Christ-follower is to be a minister.

A God-honoring church will:

Learn together.  A church is built on what God has said.  Get a hold of God’s dynamic message.  Don’t miss out on any opportunity to learn.

Worship together.  Gathering to worship God is absolutely central to church life.  Worshipping God is a crucial way Jesus followers express our love for God and strengthen our relationship with God.

Serve together.  Every Christian should serve in some way to show the love of Jesus and demonstrate to the world the reality of how Jesus transforms lives and that’s revealed in caring for the poor, helping the hurting, working to overcome injustice, exhibiting Christ-like compassion.  We can all do these much more effectively together than on our own.

-Michael