Why The Local Church Matters

by Joe Kirby, Evangelist at Off The Kirb Ministries.

...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.  Hebrews 10:25

A friend of mine recently commented, “I think there are more Christians in the world who don’t attend a local church, than those who do.”  I was stunned, but he was right. I’ve lost count of the number of Christians who message me through social media to say they left the local church because it was wicked or they had compromised on the teachings of the Bible.

But just because we’ve had a bad meal doesn’t mean we will never eat again and I strongly do believe instead of preying on our pastors we need to pray for our pastors.

When you are struggling in your Christian life, you need someone to talk to - and not just anyone, but a man of God who has been providentially placed in your local area by the Lord to shepherd your heart towards Christ. Fellowship with God must never become singular or self-centred, and I fear too many Christians have become lone rangers.

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “My experience in the ministry has been those who are least frequent in their church attendance are also those who are most plagued with problems in life.” You see, just being at church changes our attitude: we see those who are going through greater storms than we are and yet they have a peace which surpasses all understanding.

But we can all agree on one thing: Jesus calls us to serve one another and I cannot see a better vehicle for service, for using your gifts and for dying to self, than the local church. So stop fighting this battle alone and enlist at your local military station today… aka “The Church.”