Faithful church attendance is extremely important to many professing Christians. So much so that regularly attending a Sunday church service is commonly viewed as the number one trait of a good Christian. But does the Bible actually tell us to “go to church”? And do the services we’re encouraged to attend actually look like what the Bible reveals about God’s people meeting together?
The following passage is commonly used to convince people that God expects them to faithfully attend Sunday church services.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, but 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 ESV)
This doesn’t say go to church. It says meet together and minister to one another. The very phrase “go to church” demonstrates a lack of understanding what the church truly is. Church isn’t an event that you attend. The church is the body of Christ, with Jesus as its head. It is made up of people who have been born again through faith in Christ and are called to live together as disciples of Christ.
To better understand the word church, think of the word family. While there are things that a family can do to enhance their relationships, such as having meals together or doing game nights, these events are not the family itself. A family is made up of people, and these people are a family every day, all the time. Saying “go to church” is as much a misnomer as saying “go to family”. We need to stop thinking of church as an event to attend, and start thinking of church as who we are, and carefully consider how the Bible calls us to function together as the church.
While the Bible doesn’t call us to go to church, it does call us to meet together, and the verses quoted above tell us what should be taking place when we meet together. We are to “stir up one another to love and good works.” We are to “encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” God wants His people to live a lifestyle of ministering to one another, especially when we get together. This is expressed in other scripture.
…the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16 NASB)
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. (1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV)
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13 ESV)
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)
The Bible teaches that the greatest way the body of Christ is built up, is by the body of Christ, not by a select few who are entrusted with spiritual ministry.
It’s dubious how people will misuse Hebrews 10:25 to persuade people to go to church, even as they ignore what it says is supposed to happen when God’s people meet together. In fact, the highly structured “church service” that they so strongly promote reduces the body of Christ to an audience of spectators and essentially ensures that one-another ministry will not take place. The church service that you are told God expects you to attend has little resemblance to what the Bible reveals about God’s people meeting together.
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So, what does the Bible reveal about believers meeting together?
[Jesus said] “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matt 18:20 ESV)
In this straightforward statement, Jesus makes two things very clear: where we gather does not matter, and how many people gather does not matter. Take a moment to ponder the significance of these two truths.
What matters is that we gather in his name, and if only two people are doing this, Jesus promises that he will be there among them. What an amazing promise! The thought of Jesus being present among two believers stirs my heart!
Gathered in my name doesn’t mean this is limited to regularly scheduled meetings that are labeled as a Bible study, prayer meeting, or such, although these things are great. If people get together who truly love the Lord, and who value living a life that pleases him above all else, then no matter where they are or why they’re together, their conversation will naturally center on the things of God, and they will engage in Christ-centered fellowship. This doesn’t need to be planned; it flows from the heart. And even if it’s just two brothers-in-the-Lord having coffee, if their hearts are set on the Lord, Jesus says, “I’m there!”, and powerful and fruitful spiritual ministry can take place.
And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. (Acts 5:42 ESV)
It’s important to understand that the temple was not a building owned by the church, and where they met was not a building at all. They met together in Solomon’s colonnade (Acts 5:12), which was an open-air, covered walkway in the outer courts of Herod’s Temple. This area was a traditional gathering place for Jews and was also used by Jesus to teach and interact with the people.
These gatherings weren’t well-organized, high-level productions. While certain times of the day attracted more people (Acts 3:1), believers were also coming at various times throughout the day, and the very structure of Solomon’s colonnade (it was much longer than it was wide) probably resulted in people being scattered among different groups rather than being assembled in one large group.
Their meeting places were bare bones accommodations. They didn’t sink huge amounts of time and money into elaborate buildings. They simply utilized what was available. They were more focused on what was actually taking place when they met together.
In addition to meeting in an open-air walkway at the temple, the church in Jerusalem relied heavily on utilizing people’s houses. The phrase from house to house indicates this was extensive, and it says this was happening every day.
So, gatherings were taking place every day, in various locations, and carried out by many people. This wasn’t a program someone created. It was a prevailing atmosphere. They were living out a Christ-centered lifestyle that was grounded in deep gratitude and a great love for the Lord and for one another. I think early believers would be dumbfounded at how today’s church has settled for a once-a-week, one-hour event that is relegated to one location and dominated by one speaker.
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Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of comments from people who want to discount the importance of the book of Acts and how the early church operated. While there are a lot of solid arguments as to why we should pay close attention to the early church, here, I’ll just offer one. They had amazing success in spreading the word and bringing people to the Lord!
“We [the Pharisees] strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching.” (Acts 5:28 ESV)
But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. (Acts 4:4 ESV)
And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (Acts 5:14 ESV)
And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7 ESV)
The early church wasn’t focused on getting people to come to church. They focused on teaching the word of God, which resulted in multitudes of people coming to the Lord.
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In time, the church grew beyond Jerusalem, reaching into the gentile nations. And although it looked different in some ways, there are still significant similarities we should be aware of. Even as the church grew and spread, it continued to utilize meeting in houses.
How I [Paul] did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, (Acts 20:20 ESV)
Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 16:19 ESV)
Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. (Colossians 4:15 ESV)
As an apostle who evangelized much of the known world of his time, Paul was instrumental in teaching believers how God wanted them to function when they met together.
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. (1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV)
This verse encourages an atmosphere where each person is participating, and one-another ministry is flourishing. This is how God designed the body of Christ to build itself up.
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14 ESV)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom… (Colossians 3:16 ESV)
The ministry of God’s word was the predominant, overriding activity that the early church was continually engaged in, and scripture reveals that this ministry is not reserved for a few trained and ordained specialists.
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I’m not saying that going to Sunday church services is wrong, but I want to encourage everyone that we need more. We all need to be participating in the kind of body ministry that the Bible describes. We need to discuss the Bible with other believers, seeking a better understanding, but also engaging in honest discussions about how we should live out the truths that we see. We need to glorify the Lord together, personally sharing about the greatness and goodness of our God. We need to encourage and challenge one another to be faithful to the Lord. We need to share victories and struggles, and pray diligently for one another. Christ-centered fellowship with other believers is so powerful because it’s personal, and we’re engaged in giving as well as receiving. It’s far more effective than being part of an audience.
I pray the Lord will open our eyes to His ways and impart vision for how He has equipped and designed His body to minister to itself. I pray He will stir our hearts to the endless possibilities of how His people can meet together and minister to one another.
Thanks for reading! Comments and questions are welcome.
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