Should I Join A Local Church?

My church closed. Should I seek another local church to join?

Good question.

The answer is obvious.

Yes!

Am I out of the will of God if I choose not to join a local church?

Some will invoke Hebrews 10:25 or 13:17.

Any willful disobedience to these Scriptures is a deliberate act of defiance of fellowship in church with each other.

What if my church meets on Zoom, YouTube live, FB live, or other social media platforms that offer live streaming?

Live streaming is supplemental.

Nothing substitutes attending live services unless it's under extraordinary circumstances.

Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

There's many arguments about joining or not joining a local church. The building is a place where believers and sinners that aren't in Christ, attend a service.

To be a legitimate member of the Body of Christ, you must have repented of sin and have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip, the evangelist and the Ethiopian is an interesting story.

In Acts 8:26-40, Philip was instructed by an angel of the Lord to go into Gaza. This Ethiopian went to Jerusalem to worship. It's possible that he may have been a descendant of Solomon. Nonetheless, The Ethiopian eunuch with great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians was reading the book of Isaiah from the 53rd chapter.

Philip must have been familiar with the Jewish scroll. He noticed that the Ethiopian was reading aloud the text. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading and the eunuch requested assistance.

Long story short. Philip expounded and preached Christ to the eunuch that he was reading about Christ. There's no doubt in my mind that the eunuch heard about the events that led to the crucifixion of the Christ.

Philip must have explained about water baptism and when they came to some water, the eunuch wanted to be baptized. The Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip "What hinders me from being baptized?" Philip said "If you believe with all your heart, you may."

The Ethiopian's response was simple.

"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

The rest was history.

No doubt that the Ethiopian eunuch took the gospel back to Ethiopia.

Since the beginning of the church, groups of people come together from all walks of life to worship, fellowship, read Scripture, pray, sing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs to the Lord.

It's in man's nature to come together and fellowship, but is it mandatory?

Not only is it mandatory but it's essential for personal and corporate growth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 (NKJV)

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men,

in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,

according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."

Many will argue about apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers but I won't in this blog.

Paul continues to discuss the part that members play in the local church.

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (NKJV) For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.

If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need.

But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."

We see another essential teaching of the Body of Christ working together in a local setting in Romans 12:3-18 (NKJV).

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble.

Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men."

In these writing, we see the heart of Paul for the local church. Paul's heart is the heart of the Head of the Church.

The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ in chapters 2 and 3 underscores that there were local church in Asia Minor that the Lord needed to address.

John, an apostle of the Lamb, was commanded of the Lord to write to the seven churches.

Five of seven churches were walking in sin and dead. Two churches were in the heat of persecution. Philadelphia and Smyrna.

Now in understanding the localities, there may have been several local churches in one region. We see that people came together to worship and to fellowship is the point.

The Corinthians were a very undisciplined group of believers and Paul had to address them. Otherwise, his work would have been destroyed. The Corinthians needed to be corrected in love.

The world has a way of introducing things that's not essential to Christian growth.

Therefore Paul admonished them to "purge out the old leaven."

What's the point? Believers need guidance and instruction. The gathering of believers in Christ need guard rails and instruction. They need encouragement and instruction. They need guidance and rebuke when sin has entered.

There's three areas where we need to say something.

One. The gathering of believers is essential to growth.

Two. When people can't meet, a secondary source is available. The Internet.

Three. The sick, shut in, senior care, hospice, hospitals, nursing homes, and the imprisoned.

There's a lot of debate about it but these are real life situations that must be brought to our attention. The church building is a central location, but should you become incapacitated or incarcerated, then what happens?

Should we neglect these areas or become more sensitive to meet them where they are and to provide other services that could help mature believers, and help the unsaved to come into Christ?

Should the local church provide an outreach to these individuals?

Absolutely as we see in Matthew 25:34-36 (NKJV) "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Members that have a pastor should expect the pastor to send the elders to regularly meet with incapacitated or incarcerated members.

We shouldn't neglect them.

A combination of things should be available but nothing, absolutely nothing replaces the personal connection of being a part of the local church.

For your own personal reasons, you may argue that you can do as you please, but you get together at family reunions, BBQ's, supermarkets, malls, movie theaters, weddings, bars, clubs, sports events, funerals, baby dedications, bus outings, and other functions.

Why should you neglect church attendance?

I don't believe that you should just attend church service just to check off the box.

The whole purpose of church attendance is centered around your personal salvation.

Millions of people have attended church and never got saved.

Then again, millions have attended a church service, repented of sin, calling on the name of the Lord to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Internet is supplemental and it's never to be considered as a replacement for a live worship service. This includes meetings on Zoom or any other places where people meet for live broadcasts like Facebook, YouTube, Rumble, TikTok, X (Twitter), Instagram, or any other social media platforms.

There's over 330K Protestant Christian churches in United States.

Not one of them is perfect. Not every one of them is after your money. Not every one of them have bad pastors, elders, and members. They all have issues just like our jobs and families have issues. We've learned how to deal with the issues.

But if you're on the Internet and all you have is a face on a screen, that's not pastoral care.

A pastor is one that cares for the sheep on a personal professional basis.

They know you by name. They know your family members. They rally the members to assist you when you need assistance. They pray with you. They laugh and cry with you. They go to the morgue with you to help you to identify a loved one that passed away. They go to hospitals, perform funerals, weddings, and baby dedications. They counsel you when you need advice. They baptize you and your family members when they come into Christ. They go to the prisons and court rooms with you. When you need a job, they know who to call.

You will not get any of this with an "Internet pastor."

We have to overcome the arguments of the world that sometimes gets into our heads. Especially when we see, hear, and may have experienced bad things in a local church.

So, it's important, imperative, and essential that you change your perspective, and look to be a part of a growing Christ centered, Bible centered local church.

Many people will not join a church and that's sad, but it doesn't give you the excuse not to find one.