by Angela Moreno

Many years ago I spoke with a woman who I barely knew at my church.  She was talking about the last church service our church had presented.  The praise and worship was amazing this day, absolutely breath-taking with the spirit of God all throughout the building.  The woman was excited because she said she saw Jesus dancing up and down the aisle with a look of glee on His face.

At this time, I still had a lot to learn about my faith and my relationship with Jesus so I though her statement was crazy.  Jesus isn’t going to come to my church and dance in the aisles.  But now that I’ve grown in my faith, I believe her.  I believe that Jesus was in that building that day dancing with glee with the children of God praising His Father.

Our world has drastically changed over time and church has lost its importance.  Even professing Christians won’t take the time to attend church believing that they can experience God anywhere.  Yes, we can experience God everywhere, but the one place we can be surrounded by like-minded people who love and worship Jesus is church.

We should attend church because the Bible tells us we should. Hebrews 10:25 says we should “not [be] 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.” Your obedience pleases God and as time progresses, we are all the more closer to the coming of Jesus Christ to this world.  The signs of the times show that the rapture of the church is immenient.  No other signs or prophecies need to be fulfilled before the rapture occurs.

Church is a place where we can learn Bible basics like knowing God and instruction on how to walk with the Lord in our daily life.  Church is also a place where we can praise and worship God, fellowship with other believers, and learn many other principles that strengthen our relationship and dedication with God.  Most of all we show our faithfulness to the Lord and grow our relationship into the beautiful father-child relationship He wants us to be.

In his bible study “The Book of Signs”, Dr. David Jeremiah made an observation that really hit home with me and why church should be so important to the bride of Christ.  All throughout the book of Revelation we see the saints of Heaven worshipping and praising God as a collective group.  There is no individual worship, they are a team.

Dr. Jeremiah says in his book:

“We live in a day when people don’t believe they need to worship in church with the Body of Christ.  People claim they can worship in nature or on the golf course on Sunday morning.  In the book of Revelation, what we see in Heaven is corporate worship.  Christianity is not an individual experience.  Yes, we are saved individually, but immediately we are baptized into the Body of Christ, where we remain for eternity.  I cannot encourage you enough to make sure that you learn to do on earth what you will be doing for eternity in heaven:  worship with the many that God has redeemed for Himself” (The Book of Signs, page 182).

In my experience, going to meet with other believers in a place of teaching and worship renews my relationship with Him.  God reveals Himself to me in ways that I don’t always see outside of the fellowship of other believers.  I can feel His presence in the building and there is no more beautiful sound than a group of believers singing together to praise and worship their heavenly Father.  God moves in my life when I am surrounded by others who feel the same way I do.

Church is the ultimate experience you can have with God through praise and worship and where you can be taught the principles you need every day to live a holy life pleasing to God. According to Acts 4:31-34, we need a gathering place where all these things will be manifested for the overall good of the people and that will please God. Your life will have the ultimate meaning and will flourish to the fullest capacity.  You cannot fully experience this outside the church and outside the company of other believers who can support and nurture you.

In Matthew 18:20,  Jesus says: “For where there are two or more gathered in my name, there am I among them.”  Just like the woman I met in church said, Jesus is among us when we worship with people who are gathered in His name.  And that is the ultimate power Jesus offers to us.  We can experience Jesus on our own, but we cannot find the full power of Jesus worshipping alone.

Church is an essential part of our relationship with God.  Just as Dr. Jeremiah said in his book, church is just a warm-up for what we will spend eternity doing.  Are you ready for eternity and everlasting worship with other believers?  I know I am and my church family helps me prepare for the day I meet my Savior face-to-face.