The American Bible Society recently reported that nearly half of American Christians (45%) have not attended church in the past six months. That is a very sad statistic and it makes us wonder what it means. It reminds me of a question that I often hear, Do I have to go to church to be a Christian? And my answer is always the same, you don’t have to do anything but trust the finished work of Christ to be a Christian. But if you really have trusted Christ you will want to go to church.
The name church in the Greek, means called out ones. The church is not a building but a people who have been called out of darkness and brought into the kingdom of His wonderful light. The church is both universal made up of every believer, and the local church made up of believers who belon to the same congregation. The church is the bride of Christ. If you love Jesus, you will love his bride. You will want to go to church because you recognize that you need the warmth and encouragement that comes from gathering together with fellow Christians. You will want to go to church because you desire to be obedient to the word of God which says, “not neglect 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 10:25).
So, what does it mean that nearly half of people who call themselves Christians have not gone to church in six months? My first response is that not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, possess faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, not everyone who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of Heaven. Repeating a name twice indicates intimacy and there will be people who say they really know Jesus but actually do not. Church attendance does not save you, but a sign that you are saved is that you love the church.
