8 Reasons I Love My Church

Churches receive a lot of criticism from congregants. Some feel negatively enough about a church that they’ll move on to another or leave church altogether. Meanwhile, most grumblers continue to attend the church they complain about and regularly criticize. Although every church can be improved and falls short of perfection, there are plenty of things to enjoy and praise, as well. Wouldn’t it be encouraging to think about our churches’ positive attributes? Well, I hope so because I want to tell you some of the reasons I love my church. I pray it makes you think about why yours is great, too.

What’s To Love?

My list might look different than a list you would write, but that doesn’t necessarily make anyone right or wrong. Of course, I’m assuming no one’s list will include a works-based salvation message when I say that. That’s clearly wrong…

Keep in mind that I belong to a small rural church. That might make my list inherently different from a list someone from a mega church may create. For instance, I’m not thankful to find a close friend in my church of 6,000 people… But maybe you are! That’s O.K.

I think most of my list is not specific to a kind of church, and I’m earnestly praying that more churches can list these attributes as their own. Truly, these eight reasons I love my church make is a healthy environment in which anyone can worship the Lord comfortably and be surrounded by love, support, and friends. All right, that’s enough beating around the bush. Let’s get on with it.

I Love My Church Because Of The Family Vibe

My church is my family. I’m closer to some people than others because we can’t be equally close to every single person. However, I genuinely care about and love all the people at my church. Predictably, not everyone always gets along perfectly, but I suppose we’ll have to blame that on all of us insisting on being human beings plagued with the reality of sin. In the end, though, we are one body in Christ, and we try to minister to one another and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord.

I imagine the importance of this familial closeness is unclear to some, but it is an incredibly important aspect of church life. For one, First Corinthians explains how the body of believers should interact and work together as one. Each of us being an essential part of the body.

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked. That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Second, for some believers, the church family is the one family they have. People sitting in churches all across the country have lost family to death, estrangement, divorce, or distance. For others, their faith caused family division, and now they can only be genuinely accepted as a Christian and supported by their church family. I fall into this category, and because of that, I am closer to my church family than my blood family. I’m so thankful God made the church family dynamic and that my church really does feel like going home.

I Love My Church Because It’s Multi-Generational

Multi-generational churches seem harder to come by. This is especially true with small and/or rural churches. Kids grow up and move away, leaving the church with few young people. Churches with young couples and children are blessed, and churches without children are often struggling because of it. If they aren’t yet, they will one day.

Young people, though, are not the only asset to churches. A congregation benefits just as much from empty-nesters and senior saints as it does from young families. Can you imagine a church with only young people? I can because I’ve seen some. They’re lively but severely lacking in wisdom and tradition. Yes! I said tradition. A church can’t live and die by its traditions, but they do give a church its own history and personality.

In my church I can find babies and toddlers in the nursery, kids in children’s church, teens at youth group, believers studying the Word together in the young adult Sunday School, experienced wives and mothers offering help to new wives and mothers, men coming alongside younger men as mentors and offering discipleship, and senior saints offering wisdom and experience as the church grows and navigates the changing times. And all this is just inside a small church in a rural town no one has ever heard of before!

I Love My Church Because It’s Welcoming To “Outliers”

My husband and I have a public-school background in special education. He was a teacher, and I was a social worker. There is a lot of testing in special education in order to know how to best serve the students. With tests come graphs, and special education professionals are always looking for the outliers on those graphs. That is, they want to find the points that stray from the line. Those data points indicate a potential area of need.

Socially speaking, people can be outliers, too. I bet you already know what I mean. Most people fit within the confines of societal norms, but there are some who live, interact, or speak differently. Social outliers tend to be ignored or tolerated, but they struggle to find a community to fully embrace them.

My church welcomes people. Full stop. It doesn’t mean we accept any unrepentant sin someone may have, but their sin doesn’t keep my church from loving them and ministering to their needs…first and foremost the need for the gospel. The first time a recently released inmate from our county jail walked in the door, I feared how some of our older members would react. It turned out they welcomed him with a handshake, a “glad you’re here,” and “would you like to sit by me?”

My husband calls the Church a spiritual hospital. With that mentality, how can help but welcome people from all backgrounds? If they were perfect, they wouldn’t need Jesus.

I Love My Church Because It’s Giving

I won’t use numbers here because money is relative. To me, $1,000 is a lot of money while some of you might think that amount isn’t much at all. It’s not the amount of money that matters anyway, but it is the spirit behind our giving that matters most.

My church’s small congregation is a beautiful example of a giving spirit. They willingly and sacrificially give regularly to maintain the building, pay for a pastor, honor our giving promise to our missionaries, and save for needs we may have down the road. (I’m looking at you, HVAC.) My church also gives to visiting missionaries, needs that come up among our members, community needs, and they are open with their time, homes, and resources. If you need some meals, a place to stay while you’re traveling through town, or help repairing storm damage to your home, someone from my church is ready to step up and help out.

I Love My Church Because It Loves Children

One of my red flags for any church I visit is when the greeters make a spectacle over my children needing to go to “their worship space.” Why can’t my kids stay in the auditorium and worship as a family with me if that’s what my husband and I prefer? Some churches get really pushy about this, and it feels confrontational to insist on keeping my kids with me. I hate confrontation, but I won’t be pushed around on this issue. So, bring it.

Churches that turn the auditorium into an adult space give off the impression that they don’t like kids. It feels as if children are unwelcome or welcome conditionally. One of the reasons I love my church is because children are very welcome. Every new baby is cause for a celebration, even the babies our members are welcoming from out of state because family has moved away. Some parents keep their children in our main service while others drop them off in nursery regularly. It doesn’t matter to us. Those kids will be loved whether they are in nursery, children’s church, or the main service. They are a blessing no matter what room they are in.

Any church that understands children are the future of the Church and our Christian legacy will welcome kids with open arms.

I Love My Church Because Of Its Willingness To Change

I don’t want to oversell my church, and claiming change is easy might do just that. All I’m saying is that for a church that is nearly 150 years old and has some set ways of doing things, the church body has been so much more receptive to new ideas than I ever imagined possible when my husband and I first arrived. Our church has maturely made some decisions that I see as minor, but I recognize they are landmines in churches (i.e., paint, carpet, chairs vs. pews, kitchen remodel, order of service, committee changes, etc.).

We carefully and prayerfully consider changes and do as we believe the Lord leads. That means some proposed changes sit on the shelf, but that’s not bad. Change for the sake of change is not necessarily helpful or healthy. The key to what I love about my church regarding change is that the members realize the younger generation of adults needs to have input in everyday functioning and daily decisions. The whole body is taken into consideration, and younger generations are being prepared to take the reins.

I Love My Church Because Of Its Fidelity To God’s Word

You won’t find a motivational pep talk from the pulpit at my church. The Sunday School classes aren’t just cutesy stories. Instead, they are a time to delve deeper into the Bible. The preaching comes straight out of the Word of God and is not about entertainment or questionable teachings that have gained popularity.

Moreover, gray areas are treated as such. Some topics are matters of conviction or can be interpreted in more than one way. In some churches, the pastor will push his understanding or preference and ignore any interpretations that challenge his view. My pastor, who is a pretty smart guy seeing as he married me, continues to be teachable. Of course, essential doctrines of salvation are not up for debate, but he isn’t dogmatic about things we can’t be. Tertiary issues are handled as tertiary issues rather than evidences of one’s salvation.

The Bible is central to my church’s teaching, and we don’t add or take away from it. It stands as the truth upon which we base our faith.

I Love My Church Because It’s Old-Fashioned

My church is old-fashioned by many people’s standards. People dress how they feel comfortable, but most of the congregation wears some level of “Sunday best.” And most of the music is traditional hymns. We don’t have a drummer, but on occasion people have played guitar as part of their special music.

My church still has Sunday evening service in addition to Sunday School and the morning service. And yes, all those are different services. We even still have prayer meetings on Wednesday nights. I know that the midweek prayer meeting is out of vogue, but I can’t imagine always going a whole week until I saw my church family.

Our giving is done in-person with no internet option, and several people are writing paper checks. I never thought twice about that, but I hear that younger folks don’t even have checks. (That’s crazy, right?)

After service, people hang out. Music rehearsals and meetings keep some of us after church, but plenty of us just talk. It’s a community of friends and family who love to fellowship…sometimes around a potluck.

We’re not slick and polished. You won’t find impressive lighting, a professional praise band, or a $10,000 Vacation Bible School. On the other hand, you will find brothers and sisters in Christ who love to serve the Lord together. You’ll find friendship, community, and the gospel message.

Final Thought

Not every church is the same, and we ought to be thankful for that. My rural church wouldn’t do so well in New York City. However, I think the heart of what I love about my church is good for any church in any location. It has a family atmosphere, a multi-generation congregation, a welcoming and giving spirit, a heart for children, a willingness to change, a faithfulness to the Word of God, and is a little old-fashioned. Frankly, I recommend all of these things exist in every church, but that’s just my opinion.

What do you love about your church?

Image courtesy of hoch3fotografie via Unsplash.