Why I still go to church

With all the negative press the churches worldwide have been getting lately some people might wonder why I still go to church. All too often people in church do wrong things; you do not need to be a rocket scientist to know that church is not perfect. One of the reasons it’s imperfect is because I go to it. You might have heard it said that when searching for the perfect church, if a person finds it they should not join it as it will no longer be perfect. We all bring baggage to church. 

So why do I still go to church? Well, there is the social side. It’s a good group of folk who care for one another and also gather to help others in the community. Yet obviously I could join a service club to cover my social and community work quota.

There is the spirituality; I find church a good place to zen out, feed the soul and grow spiritually. It’s a place of teaching and of learning how to connect what is known in the head and in the heart with the whole of self so hopefully actions become more Christ like. Yet obviously there are a multitude of options out there for some form of spiritual growth stuff – so why choose a Christian church?

And why go to church regularly Sunday after Sunday when life is so hectic and there are plenty of other things to do at that time. Why not just chill out at a cafe or on the beach on a Sunday morning?

I go to church because of Jesus Christ and because of what he did on that first Easter Sunday. That historical event is so far-reaching it demands a relook at what is real and the meaning of life. Plenty of people have died...but how many have risen from the dead never to die again? This Easter it felt like a lot of Nelsonians had forgotten the historical fact (and good news) that just over 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ claimed he was God, was executed on the Friday morning, confirmed dead by a trained executioner and that evening buried in a tomb. On the following Sunday several women went to place spices on his body to find he had risen from the dead and over the next 40 days over 500 people saw him, heard him, some ate with him.

I still go to church because Jesus Christ rose from the dead and this historical event requires a complete change in how I view life and perceive reality. It gives empirical evidence that God exists and His love for us is deeper than we perceive. Local churches will have books in their libraries written by atheists who set out to disprove the resurrection only to end up discovering it really did happen. Allow yourself some space to check out this claim by Jesus to be God and how this shows God’s love for you.

God Bless
Jon