When I was young, people in our church would bring a bulletin back from churches they visited to get attendance credit. That allowed people who traveled to get perfect attendance at Sunday School for years.
The culture and church worship attendance patterns have changed. But Christians miss out when they aren’t faithful to regular weekly worship.
Worship sets a tone of purpose and gratitude in our lives and sets us up for the week ahead. Faithful attendance in corporate worship reminds us who is in truly in charge of our lives; gives us a spiritual boost; helps us stay grounded in a ever increasing ungrounded world; and keeps us connected to God and a community.
My family tries to make being in worship a priority when we travel. Here are reasons why:
- It reminds all of us that God is first in our lives – even in the midst of our fun vacation trip. We praise God for the opportunity to travel and a million other things.
- When my daughters were young, it taught them that worship is a commitment to Christ, not something to do when nothing else seems to be on the calendar.
- It encourages the churches we visit. Churches appreciate comments from visitors. We can seek out the pastor or other leader, let them know good things they are doing, and express appreciation for their ministry.
- It allows for a unique perspective for our own church. We have an opportunity to feel like a guest as we take in best practices for welcoming, leading, and serving. We observe things that can help in our own church ministry setting.
I stay committed to weekly worship and model it for our family. We once attended an amazing little church 1000 miles from home. As we walked in, several people made sure that our two young daughters got a stuffed bear. We enjoyed being with the people. We worshipped, sang, listened, engaged and connected. Afterwards, the people we sat with took us to lunch.
I know you don’t have to be in church to worship God, but I want to make worship a priority as often as possible – even when we are on a trip or at a game, event, or something else.
Once, when we were unable to locate a church with a service that fit our schedule, we pulled our car up to a beautiful lake overview, played worship songs, read Scripture and a devotion, and prayed together. It was a marvelous worship time and we kept referencing back to it most of the day. God’s presence was near as we made time to worship Him. I praise the Lord for that great experience.
How do you do find a place to go to church? Here’s what I do:
- Seek out a church in the place we will be and find out the time and location.
- Attend and absorb the interactions, ideas, publications, etc.
- Sit back, relax, and worship.
- Thank and encourage the leaders after the service.
I understand there are times when you physically can’t make it to worship. Many believing home bound Christians would do anything to be a part of corporate worship again. I also know you don’t have to be in a church building with others to worship. But I believe Christians should desire weekly corporate worship whenever they can, whether out of town or at their home church. I try never to schedule anything on Sunday morning except to be in worship.
What are your thoughts?
