Have you ever found yourself wondering what the point of church is?
Have you ever wondered why you should bother gathering in a room full of people who are quite different to you rather than sleep in and go out for brunch?
I know I have.
In fact, each January, when I have no official church role, I’m plagued with the question: Why bother? What's the point?
Now, I did go to church this summer.
But here's the thing: I’m convinced there’s no point in merely attending church.
You drive all the way in to connect with three or four songs, hear a message, and then head home. You could almost do all of that by yourself in a much more convenient way.
Slip-on Spotify and grab the message via podcast, and boom, you’re sorted.
So, what's the point?
Well (spoiler alert),I obviously believe gathering together for church is important.
And here's why.
The main reason I gather with the church is because I am the church.
You don’t attend church. You are the church.
Merely attending church doesn’t make you much of a church because sitting in a back row consuming church doesn’t make you very good at being the church.
I think being the church has something to do with living your life for Christ, demonstrating God’s love by serving others and sharing your faith with people. That’s very different than consuming church in a back row, which you can just as easily doon your back deck.
The reason you should go to church is that you’ve moved from being a consumer to being a contributor. You don’t just go to be served, you go to serve. There’s something deeply scriptural about that.
And before you think that you can do whatever you need to do as a Christian in the world without other Christians or without the church, I would disagree.
In fact, a pastor I follow online wrote an excellent response to Christians who say they’re done with church. You can read it here.
You are the church.
Remember that.
And the church is at it’s best when we engage in the mission God has given us: to work with God’s Holy Spirit to see lives transformed by the good news of Jesus.
The second compelling reason to attend a Sunday morning gathering is that you’re bringing a friend with you or because you yourself are exploring Christianity.
You see, I love designing worship experiences with those who are not yet in the room in mind.
What I found to be one of the most exciting things about serving in our last church was that we became passionate about hosting authentic worship experiences that unchurched people could access and, ultimately, love to attend.
And I know that’s something our church whānau here in Sumner-Redcliffs is passionate about and it’s something that I want us to be even more passionate about in the future.
It blows me away whenever I see people invite their friends to church for the first time and I love being there to connect with them when they do come.
We gather, not for ourselves, but for the sake of those not yet in the room.
Ever heard that wonderful line in Hebrews: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25)?
Gathering with other Christians is so good for the soul.
It’s by authentically belonging to faith community that we can find encouragement during life’s difficult times.
It’s by actively belonging to a faith community that we can help each other in times of need.
It’s by belonging to a faith community that we can celebrate each other’s wins.
But here’s the thing: you can’t belong to something you don’t engage with.
Gathering for church strengthens our faith, fosters community, and aligns us with God’s call to encourage, worship, and grow together as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians12:12-27).
In John 4:24, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."
But here’s the thing: True worship isn't about how we feel or what we get out of it—it's about acknowledging who God is in his holiness, greatness, and love.
To paraphrase Psalm29: It's about giving to the Lord the glory he deserves.
In our modern context, it's easy to think of worship as something transactional: "What did I get out of the service?" or "Did it uplift me?"
But worship isn't a consumer activity; it's a response to the character and work of God.
It's not about what webring or how we feel—it’s about who he is and what he has done for us in Jesus.
In a world so fixatedon itself, worship frees us from consumerism and redirects our gaze towards Jesus.
This summer I had alot of time to read, and I loved reading Tim Keller’s thoughts in CounterfeitGods about how worship has a reorienting power. He writes, "You don’trealize God is all you need until God is all you have."
His point was that, whenwe worship, we’re reminded that God is the source of all joy, all meaning, andall hope.
Worship in Spirit andtruth means approaching God with our whole being (our hearts engaged by theSpirit and our minds transformed by the good news of Jesus).
It's about letting goof self-centeredness and pride and being captivated by the beauty and majesty of God.
Worship isn’t about us, it’s about God.
So that’s it. Four good reasons to keep attending church.
First, you are the church, which means you’re engaged in the mission in some meaningful way.
Second, you’re creating space where everybody (regardless of their background) can hear and experience the news of Christ’s love for them.
Third, scripture encourages us to.
And fourth, worship is fundamentally about God, not us.
Earlier I wrote this:
“The reason you should go to church is that you’ve moved from being a consumer to being a contributor. You don’t just go to be served, you go to serve. There’s something deeply scriptural about that.”
If this resonated withyou, can I ask you to do two things?
1. Pray aboutit. Ask God to show you where you can contribute and serve.
2. Drop me aline so we can get your serving where God’s calling you to do so.
