Hebrews 10:24-25 And 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.
You have heard these words and perhaps even said them: We don’t go to church, we are the church. I have a relationship with God; I don’t need an institution or a building. Going to church is a man-made, American, modern invention. God wants us to connect with him and others. I “do church” in a different way—over a meal, in nature, through serving others—this is my church.
Some people say they are Christians but never go to church. They aren’t sure the Bible instructs us to do so. Are they right? Does the Bible say anything about going to church? Let’s explore seven different answers to that question.
1. God Has Long Commanded His People to Gather Weekly
Where did the idea of going to church originate? Some of the typical culprits suggested are Constantine, American business models, old people, or pastors desperately in need of jobs. But whose idea is it, really?
Here’s what God says:
Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are my appointed times, the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies. Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live. (Lev. 23:2–3)
Gathering isn’t a man-made idea. God himself assembled his people once a week for a sacred time of worship.
2. God’s People Gathered Weekly for Song, Teaching, and Prayer
Sometimes people say that “church” is important, but it involved a variety of activities. Connecting with God doesn’t have to happen through an institutional gathering, so it’s fine to find something that works for you.
This misses the fact that there are indeed specific practices of worship that God has given to his people to participate in when they gather as the church.
The Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120–134) were written to prepare people for worship in Jerusalem. Psalm 122 shows they went to a particular place (v. 1), offered praise and thanksgiving (v. 4), prayed (v. 6a), and received a benediction (v. 6–7). These practices continued in the synagogues.
“Doing church” is not just finding what works for you spiritually. God intends to change our understanding of our needs and desires through practices he ordained.
3. The Early Church Gathered Together
Some might think, “Well, that’s just the Old Testament.” But that’s not the case. The first Jewish converts to Christianity had their worship transformed, but not abolished.
As the church gets started, they “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
“The breaking of bread and prayers” is not referring to friends hanging out over the weekend and praying before a meal. It’s talking about formal worship gatherings.
As the gospel spread, Christians organized themselves into local churches, and they continued the worship gatherings that had been handed down. James warns of temptations that may arise “if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes” (Jas. 2:1–4, c.f. Rom. 16:5, 1 Cor. 16:19, Col. 4:15, Phlm. 2).
The assumption is a regular meeting is happening—and not just a casual hangout. The Greek word for “meeting” is normally translated “synagogue”; James speaks of formal worship gatherings. Early Christians show us that being the church means going to church.
4. The Early Church Gathered for Specific Practices
Christians can do many good things when they hang out, but that doesn’t mean they are “a church.” It is not “church” when Christians go camping together, serve others in need, eat a meal, or talk about God over coffee. Good things. Not church.
The early church’s pattern of worship included the same practices we already covered: the Word taught, singing, prayer, and thanksgiving (Col. 3:15–16), as well as the addition of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:18–21).
5. Christians Gathered on the First Day of the Week
The church marked Sunday as the day for their sacred assembly because of Jesus’s resurrection. Luke records, “On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them” (Acts 20:7, c.f. 1 Cor. 16:1–2).
Though it is not Scripture, the Didache, one of the earliest Christian documents from the first century, prescribes what the church’s worship should look like: “Every Lord’s Day gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.”
Going to church on Sunday is not a modern invention. Christians did not just get together casually and “do life” on any variety of days. They were committed to assembling on Sundays.
6. The Command to Have Elders Lead and Preach Assumes a Gathering
Through our phones we easily connect with friends and access the best preachers in the world, thousands of worship songs, and even seminary education. We can build our own faith experience.
But the Bible paints a different picture. We are told that Christians need elders (1 Tim. 3:1), who are responsible to see that the church is maturing (1 Tim. 3:14–15), much of which comes through preaching. Paul tells Timothy, “Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching” (1 Tim. 4:11–13; c.f. Titus 2:1, 2:15; 2 Tim. 4:1–2).
God could have planned a different way. He could have instructed individual Christians to read the Bible or find a mentor. He could have commanded us to make friends, be open and honest with them, and give them permission to speak truth to us.
But God knows we need more than our own curated resources and community. He knows we need qualified, appointed leaders with authority to take responsibility for us, and that those same leaders should be preaching and teaching into our life. There is no substitute for that.
7. The Temptation to Not Gather Is Addressed
For some, going to church has simply become too hard. Something stopped the habit (moving, kid’s sports, home projects, etc.), or life got too busy.
Hebrews was written to Christians who were struggling to endure. It’s instructive that one of the greatest temptations they faced was giving up meeting together. The author says this must not be: “Let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing” (Heb. 10:24–25).
Did he just mean that they had stopped going to each other’s houses for dinner, or stopped going to the park together? No! The whole chapter is about public worship—the sacrifices and offerings made in the temple, the ministry of the priest, and entering into the sanctuary. All these activities are fulfilled and improved by Jesus, which is all the more reason not to neglect our gathering together.
God knows that if we’re to remain faithful and experience all that he has for us, we must not neglect going to church.
Conclusion
We are the church, so we go to church. The word “church” means “assembly.” God has been and is still assembling his people from all nations across time and space. But he is not just assembling them in the abstract. He is assembling them weekly, physically, in actual places with specific practices of worship, covenant renewal, and preaching led by qualified elders that he knows we need.
God has ordained the church to be one of the most fundamental aspects of your life as a Christian. If you want to experience all God has for you—knowing and enjoying and glorifying him—you cannot expect it apart from deep commitment and connection to a local church.
Let’s not only be the church. Let’s go to church. This is his idea—his plan, his gift.
By Caleb Davis
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