Church: Why do people attend?

   On any given Sunday (except Easter and Christmas season) approximately 72 million people attend church services in the United States. The reasons people go to church according to the polls uncover something interesting about most attenders. Religion to most people in our country is very passive. Attendees see the church as a place of recharging batteries rather than sharing a life-changing message with others.
   Pew Research outlines the various reasons people attend church: 1) To become closer to God; 2) For Children to learn about the faith; 3) To become a better person; 4) For comfort in times of sorrow; 5) To hear Sermons; 6) To be part of a community of faith; 7) Continue family religious traditions; 8) Feel an obligation to go; 9) To meet people.
   Why do you go to church? Is it for personal improvement, family education, because of family tradition (or obligation), to meet friends (or make business connections), or to serve God within a community of faith?
   When you go to church, do you attend worship services only? Do you participate in a small group? In what ways do you serve God through your church? Do you invite others? (Many churches are failing because members do not share their faith and joy with others).
   The Bible teaches we should: 1) build a daily relationship with God through daily prayer and daily Bible reading. (Psalm 19; 119:147; 143:8; Isa 50:4). We do this at home, and share the things we have learned at church. 2) As Parents we are responsible for teaching our children to love the Lord our God at home (Dt 6:4-9). Our children learn to love the Lord and desire to go to church. 3) We become a better people by living the things we put into our lives daily (Dt. 4:29; 10:12; 13:3). The church is a community of people (ἐκκλησία) who live their faith in very public ways.
   Why should people attend church? The author of the book of Hebrews writes, “since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:19-25)