Why should I be involved in a local church?

My iPhone is obsessed with me. It knows me so well. Quite often, it even knows my schedule. I'll look down at my screen to a notification that says, "15 min to North Metro Church". It's impressive - the smartphone has tracked my locations and my patterns to see that I am almost always at North Metro Church. It knows I spend my weekdays at the church, working in the office. It tracks me every Wednesday night as I drive back over for community group and, of course, knows I'll pull into the parking lot every single Sunday morning. My phone is obsessed with me, and I am obsessed with my church. Love is contagious, so here are three reasons why I think you should love church too:

1: Church saves you from yourself.

Church is a place that isn't totally tailored to your preferences (like the style of music, the frequency of events, or the temperature of the room), and that's a good thing because it saves you from the suffocating world of self-obsession. In a culture that tells you to always seek your own interests and find your truth - church does the opposite. Church frees you from being accountable to yourself (this is how I interpret the Bible, this is how I'm willing to serve, this is how I like to worship) and provides a way of escape: show up and gather, sit and listen, stand and serve. This is what we are singing, this is when we gather, and this is how we are serving others; because what might not be my preference might serve my neighbor in the seat next to me. When our nature says "everything is about me", church is a weekly reminder that it isn't; it's about our good God.

2: Church sends you to others.

When our schedule tells us that a "just me and Jesus" approach is sufficient, church brings the fullness of additional perspectives. Christian community provides opportunities to be taught, loved, and encouraged. It provides outlets for sin to be confessed and places for God-given gifts to be worked out and utilized. Without the church, we can't engage in the commands God has given us. The Bible is full of calls for us to "one another". The directive varies (to love, to serve, to confess to), but the end is always the same: one another. Over and over again, Scripture paints a picture of the church "one anothering". This is no exaggeration; look to John 13:34, John 15:12, Romans 12:10, Romans 15:14, 1 Corinthians 12:25, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 10:24-25, James 5:16...to name a few! To fulfill these, independence and isolated family units fall short - only the church can do.

3: Church supplies you with your needs.

As Christians, our citizenship is in heaven because we are members of the kingdom of God, co-heirs with Christ. God, in His good grace, provides the church as a respite for our days here on earth until all things are made new. The church functions as an embassy for the people in the kingdom of God- an institution representing one nation inside another nation. Utilizing this embassy by attending church to worship in song, sit under scripture, and serve another is a weekly reprieve that reorients our hearts and minds to the Father before we face the flurry of our daily lives again. The church meets your needs not in the novelty of top-notch childcare or hot coffee but with core practices like singing, teaching, and communion. No other function of our regular lives consistently feeds us and support us like the practices of the church.

I love church, and I hope you love it too.

I'll see you on Sunday,

Jess Magee

Next Steps Director