Is it the coffee and donuts you get beforehand?

The friends you have made there?

The cushioned seats and air conditioning?

Or the music that’s played?

Would you still go to church if all that was stripped away? Do you attend church to learn more about God and to be in fellowship with other believers or is it something that you need to check off your to-do list? I’m not saying that any of those things are bad, they are blessings from God, however, it shouldn’t be the main reason we go.

I have been guilty of doing this.

But recently my eyes have opened a lot more to what the meaning of church really is.

Last week I had the opportunity to travel with a team to meet up with a pastor in a neighbouring town.  Our goal was to get him involved with our ministry’s feeding program and while we were there this pastor took us to one of his churches. This is when the guilt hit me.

Imagine walking into a dingy apartment and then climbing several sets of stairs until you reach the highest room in the building. There are fifty plastic chairs set up facing a tiny podium in a room the size of a storage unit. It only has one bathroom and a couple of fans to cool down the ninety-degree weather. Now, put sixty people in this room and try to find a place to sit. People will show up half an hour early so they can get a seat and the rest that stagger in end up standing the whole two hours.

This made me ask those questions I had just asked you and let me tell you that I didn’t feel so great after thinking about them. My goal is not to convict you but to educate you on how some people do church in impoverished communities. These people are so eager to learn about Jesus that they are willing to sacrifice comfortability for knowledge and intimacy. I wish I was more like them, but I’ve been brainwashed to think that I need those things to enjoy church. Enjoy your church and dive into making it a home for you but remember why God created the church in the first place.

It’s easy to thank God for things that we don’t receive all the time, but we forget to thank Him for the things we get every day.

 

Thanks for reading,

Logan