"All in" for Jesus

By: John Carrigan

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT)

Church attendance isn’t just a good suggestion; it’s God’s will. Why does God's Word challenge us to attend church regularly? Because He knows how much we need it! God knows church attendance encourages us and provides Christian fellowship. The early church wasn't distracted by youth sports or weekend hobbies, but some of them still developed a habit of not meeting together. If you start thinking you don’t need to gather with others, consider this; they may need encouragement from you!

Christmas and Easter are our nation's most attended services, and they are CCM's biggest services too. Attending church twice a year is better than not at all, but not by much... If asked, most "CEO" Christians (Christmas & Easter only) say they believe, but they aren't obeying God's instructions to attend regularly. Following Jesus is life-changing! It should change our relationship with Christ, so we should want to spend more time with Him.

It may sound strange, but we nurture our relationship with Jesus by gathering for Christian fellowship. Christ purchased us (the church) with His blood, so shouldn't we be willing to rearrange our schedules to worship Him? Before I got saved, someone said to me; "God has given me so much, the least I can do is to give Him a few hours of my time on the weekend." Back then, I thought my weekends were for getting a few extra hours of sleep. After I became a Christ follower, I realized waking up and honoring God with my time isn't a burden, it's a blessing!

Church attendance won't save us, but it's an important part of our relationship with God. After all, if we want to spend eternity with God and other believers, shouldn't we get started by doing it down here? Now, I realize my reluctance to attend church was an outward sign of spiritual immaturity. It also told God (and others) that He wasn't really a priority in my life. Something else to think about; if you’re not attending church and only reading your Bible at home, you're missing out on corporate worship! Worshipping and praising God with others is special. It's the model God designed, and it’s what we’ll be doing one day in Heaven. Christ follower, if your church attendance isn’t where it should be, ask God to help you fix it.

Take a step of faith. Go "all in" for Jesus by attending His church regularly!