Is there any meaning just in the mere act of attendance? Do we “get any points” for just showing up? I have often heard the expression, “Half the battle is in just showing up.” I assume the previous expression means that even to think of achieving or experiencing something, you at least need to be present to begin achieving and experiencing. A similar expression that might highlight the meaning of attendance is, “Better to have tried and failed, then to have never tried at all.” In other words, there will be no potential benefit to attendance unless we at least attend. So in light of our discussion so far, what might be the benefits of attending church-related activities?
People attend church for a variety of motives and perceived benefits. For instance, broadly speaking, some attend church-related activities for the perceived benefit of enjoying eternal life. I often hear Christians say, “We want to attend church services, because we want to go to heaven.” For some, there is a perceived correspondence between attending church services and entering heaven—better attendance at church equals more assured access to heaven. While it is true that faithful people attend, it is false that attendance itself can make people faithful, or assure better access into heaven (sorry, no points for just showing up). We do not earn eternal salvation with the down payments of church attendance, but with the life, Jesus Christ laid down for our sins and took up for our justification (Rom 4:25).
Others attend church-related activities for the benefits that accompany fellowship: friendships, social interaction, fun, emotional/psychological / moral and spiritual supports are just some of these benefits. Therefore, the fellowship benefit tends to focus often on the perceived rewards of personal consumption. In other words, “What do I (or my family, children, etc.) get out of attending church?” While such a consumption motive may come across as potentially selfish, there is benefit in personally enjoying the blessings of more brothers and sisters interacting with one another. Jesus himself assures us that, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields-- and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life (Mark 10:29-30). Space constraints here demand we simply move on and leave untouched the Christian paradox that in giving, we receive, and in serving, we are served.
Ultimately, we attend church-related activities because Jesus draws us together to glorify God. Jesus declares, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32). Why is Jesus pulling us all together through his sacrifice upon the cross? The Apostle Paul answers, “Then the end will come, when [Jesus] hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power” (1 Cor 15:24). Once Jesus draws us together in Christian unity, he will hand us over to God the Father, and we will sing together with all God’s chosen ones:
“Because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth . . . . In a loud voice [we will sing]: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! . . . To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Rev 5:8-13).
Regardless of why people may choose to attend church-related activities, if they are not attending because they have been drawn to do so by the sacrifice of God the Son, to the glory of God the Father, through the work of God the Holy Spirit, then they are not attending the Church of Jesus Christ, but are just going to church. So, does Church attendance mean anything?” One answer depends on what draws you to church in the first place. What is drawing you, dear brother and sister?
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