Believers of God: Do you attend church regularly?

We do.

But we did not for many years and continued to maintain a personal relationship and a daily "worship" through music - for us, it was a time of healing from experiences with "negative" churches.

We are blessed to have found a "real" church and are being rewarded through the experience. I think we learned the reality of true Christianity through those years, and the difference between that and religion. Unfortunately, it seems "bad" churches outnumber the "good", and while time away can be positive, staying away forever will weaken you in the long run and it's worth the effort to find a "good" one when you're ready. God bless.

@Secret: It's not just you...not by any means! There may be more "solid" Christians outside of the church each Sunday than in...remember the parables of the wheat and the tares and the seeds that fell on various soils; not to forget the warnings of how the true church of Christ will be scattered -- denominations are man-made and religion does not properly represent Christ when the focus is on so many other things than Him (and some denominations actually teach things contrary to His Word but will fight with you that they are "Christian"!) When He warned of this early in His ministry, the 12 asked how they would know the true/real Christians from the posers...He answered, "You will know them by their love." That's a solid way to determine if a church is a genuine church, even though it does not guarantee every one in it is a genuine believer. Know the difference, for those void of Godly love will harm your spirit and steal your joy! (I also have had much experience with different denominations through my life and can at this age say that there are those that lean more towards being "solid" and those that lean more towards being harmful and dangerous. We're told not to judge but we're also told to be discerning and given every permission to be "fruit inspectors" to determine if one (or a group) have the Fruits of the Spirit...which are proof of His indwelling...nothing wrong with noting if there are fruits severly lacking or absent, and responding appropriately.)

Keep your eyes on Him, in His Word and continue to serve Him where you are. But, don't toss the baby out with the bath water...none of us is strong enough to go it alone...the right church is a gift from Him to us for support and edification...it's not a chore or work we've been given! When you're ready, it's worth the effort to dive back in and "shop" for a true church, the marks of which are defined for us clearly, take notes and search diligently...if you're still church-shy, maybe start with a small groups from a church you like a little...the "do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together" verse does not legalistically mean "church", but just what it says...get together for support and edification with other believers - what makes the difference is "true" believers rather than simply those that claim His name.

God bless you!

We don't need to gather in a church building, but we do need to gather with other genuine believers for support and growth. The necessary skill is to learn the difference! Some churches can squeeze the life and joy right out of you, but those aren't from God. Many churches put the emphasis on ceremonial traditions and the "authority of the church", but God's Word tells us these things are against Him and that authority is only in His Word and Him, not mans buildings, traditions, ceremonies, laws, rules or works. Any church that pushes things other than God's grace has an agenda contrary to that of Christ or those things found in Scripture. Any church that amasses great wealth is a false church. I think a lot of us have taken time away from church attendance because of negative experiences, and I don't believe for one second that it's just you!

@Sol: You are so right! Thank you for sharing!

The churches own figures show only 28% ever attend church in a year. Indeed if 28% ever tried to attend church on the same day, even working shifts, there is simply not enough churches!!

But count the bars - in many places there is more space In the bars than the churches!!

I go twice a week, plus a Bible study here and there. The New Testament is clear that we need fellowship with other believers, weather it's at "church" or a group of people discussing and sharing how their relationship with God is going and encouraging each other with Scripture.

I always attend my Church 3 times a week.

I typically attend some type of formal worship service 4 times per week.

As King David said I desire to be in the House of the Lord.

I only wish I could be in the House of the Lord always.

One day, that will happen, when this old bag of bones breathes its last.

what attracts me to Church is to hear a lesson from the word of God from another perspective other then my own. Fellowship with others who believe as I do. And to encourage one another to be faithful to God. To partake in the Lord supper as a memorial of the Lord life death and resurrection. Giving of how much I earned this week to go toward the furtherance of the Gospel in the charities the church supports. Hearing others lead the prayers and singing praises to the Lord with others in fellowship with one another. We as Christians need to teach one another to believe and obey all of God's will encourage one another to be faithful till death. These are just a few of the things that attracts me to worship. Thanks for the question friend. God bless.

I personally cannot stand NOT to be in church! I want to cry when it's over! I go to the early service and stay right through to the 11AM service as I enjoy church twice! I LOVE our congregation and our pastor and worship leader are THE BEST!!!!

Check us out! http://home.trbc.org/

Yes.

It's true that God lives in our hearts, but we are encouraged to fellowship with others. We have lots of wisdom to gain from others. I am blown away sometimes by the wisdom of the pastors and teachers at my church who have made studying the Bible and Biblical history their life's work.

It's important to pray, study the Bible, and worship God on your own, but we are also called to do these things in community. It helps, trust me. :)

Amen! me too. I do go because right now they need another teacher for the little ones and they asked me to stand in for the other teacher.. the church is good but I don't always go there.