There’s a saying, “No one is too bad to go to church; neither is anyone good enough to stay away.” As I pay attention to what people outside of Christ think about church, it seems that they think the opposite of this saying. They believe they are too bad to go and those who do go will be fine to “skip” whenever they want, so to speak. This frame of thought comes from a misconception about what church is and what it is about. Church in not an event that takes place for people. It’s not a product for people to consume. Church is not the place where you go to be healed nor is it a place where sinners catch on fire if they walk through the doors. In fact, church is not even a place. The Church is a collection of the people God has called to Himself through Jesus Christ. Fortunately, many groups of God’s people have buildings where they come together to worship, fellowship, and plan events to try to bring more people into Christ. Let me be clear though, the buildings or meeting places are not the church.

You and I are the Church. Anyone who is a true Christian makes up the Church. Unfortunately, those outside of Christ and many inside of Christ believe church is something you attend at a certain place at a certain time. How unfortunate that they do not understand it is so much deeper. In Acts chapter 1 & 2 the church gathers to pray together, sing together, and read scriptures together. The church does its most important and intimate thing together, worship and build a relationship with the creator. In Acts 20:28, Paul tells the elders in Ephesus that they are overseers of the church of God. The church is a team of believers in Jesus and just like any team, there are seasoned teammates that are able to guide, teach, warn, and love others. Church is not a building but the people who gather to worship the Lord whether it be in a building or under a bridge. Ephesians 1:22 says that the church is Jesus’ “body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” The church is God’s representative through the love, deeds and commands set forth by Jesus on this earth. Where the church is, Jesus should be there too.

When people say that they can have a relationship with Jesus and God without “going to church” they have a deep misunderstanding of truly what the church is. When Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” He is saying His Body and His Church are the people gathered together in His name. The church is a physical gathering of believers. The church worships properly when God’s people are together physically, worshipping in the Spirit of the Lord and the truth brought to us through Jesus. Can one have a relationship with God without going to church? Absolutely, but let me ask you this. Can one be a part of the church if they have the ability to attend the assembly of believers and consciously do not attend the assembly of God’s people? The more I study, the more I find the answer is a hard pill to swallow.

None of us are too good to stay away from our fellow believers and no one is so bad that they shouldn’t be sought after and helped to become a part of the church. I encourage you this week to invite someone into Christ whether they be a believer who has stopped attending the assembly or a non-believer who has never been. We can’t be the church of Christ without each other.