Question: I’ve been talking to some co-workers and many of them are Christian but they don't go to Church. I myself pray and talk to God. I don’t go to Church on a regular basis. What's the point when I can talk to God on my own. Isn’t it all the same thing?
Answer: I am currently trying to get back into shape. There are many ways in which I can do this. I can go for a jog, rollerblade, maybe take a ride on my bike. Other options could include going to the gym or even finding a personal trainer. All of these will help to build up my body. The last option is probably a good idea for someone like me who really doesn’t know much about living a healthy lifestyle, eating properly, and training properly. Having a personal trainer probably would best suit my needs because it would provide me with a check point. It also would provide me with a little motivation and maybe a good kick in the behind to get going and stop making excuses for not doing my exercises.
Having assistance and direction is often beneficial to us. Going to Church is basically the same thing. When we are talking about the soul, prayer is our language of communication with God. Prayer is the start of a talk with God. This is awesome and people need to talk with God. We need to vent, we need to unleash sometimes. Prayer is also the beginning of our walk with God. But prayer isn’t enough we need guidance too!
The first visit to a personal trainer includes questions about me, where I am at, what are my habits? It’s a check point. I need to be accountable. Having a trainer makes me accountable. In our jobs we need it to become more productive. If I’m in school and I score a bad grade I realize that maybe I need to study more. It’s no different with God. If you don’t have a check point how do you know that you are on track? That’s a good reason to go to Church because it is one way of checking in with God. We hear the Gospel not just read but proclaimed. Anybody can read the bible but we need to hear and understand what is being said. We are inspired by what Jesus said through the Gospel and we learn how to live the Gospel. We are challenged by the Gospel. We come back week after week to do our spiritual workout, to be challenged spiritually!
At Church we praise which is just prayer sung. We hear the needs of the community which calls us again to prayer. It also helps us to learn to live as a community. The Church is our Community. People need community. Being in Community strengthens us! Community helps us to become better people because it challenges us to go beyond ourselves. Community challenges us to learn how to love one another. Being in a Church Community takes us out of our own world, our own struggles and gives us a chance to be free from that for an hour a week. How great is that!!
Not going to Church for me would be the same as not having a personal trainer. I might achieve my final goal but its definitely much harder on my own. It is easier to miss something that could be essential to my health. Besides it is always more challenging doing your workout whether spiritual or physical with someone else! While there are many other reasons to go to Church, these can be good starting points. Keep praying to know what God wants you to do!
