As a pastor’s wife for almost 25 years, church attendance is a requirement. I need to be at church regularly to minister to the people God has placed in our path to shepherd. However, since my role has shifted a bit, church attendance is no longer a requirement. For the first few months after embracing this new transition, I still attended church regularly since it was ingrained in me. But after the 4th or 5th month, I realized he was OK if I didn’t attend church every Sunday.

First, I went one week a month where I didn’t go to church. One month, when it was snowing excessively, I missed two weeks. Quickly, I realized two things:

I hadn’t missed it.

I could soon stop attending my church, and no one would notice.

I’ll admit I was tempted to stop attending. After all, I could do many things with an extra three hours on a Sunday. I could even justify the absence by reading the Bible and studying it independently. I could also watch other churches online to experience other church settings. But I knew my spiritual life would slip if I didn’t. I also understood that’s not what God wants for his children.

Hebrews 10:25 says, “Do not give up the habit of meeting together, is somewhere in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as we see the Day approaching.” (NIV) We need the local church body more than ever before. We don’t just need to go to church simply because it’s something we were taught to do as a child or something we think we should do as a Christian. One of the most important reasons to attend church regularly is that it helps us to exemplify the fruits of the spirit to others.

We need the local church body more than ever before.

Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Many people memorize this verse and do not understand that to show evidence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we must exemplify his fruits in our lives, and they don’t embrace one crucial fact: it was written to a church. As we read in Revelation, the church in Ephesus had lost its first love. They were doing all the right things in the world’s eyes, but they forgot they were supposed to follow God first.

It’s easy to forget to love God first. But with regular church attendance. We are reminded of this reality. One way to demonstrate our closeness to God is through the fruits of the spirit. We demonstrate the spirit’s fruit best when we make peace during a difficult situation. We exhibit self-control with someone who deserves a correction or rebuke. It’s exemplifying joy when our circumstances demonstrate otherwise. It’s loving others the world says do not deserve to be loved.

Not only are we responsible for demonstrating fruits of the spirit to non-believers, but we need to demonstrate the fruits of the spirit to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We find those brothers and sisters within our local church body. But how can we exemplify these fruits if we never attend church? Fruits, in addition to the spiritual gifts, are there to benefit and edify the body of Christ. But we’ve missed the point if we only attend church a couple of times a month. We’ve missed the benefit of demonstrating the Holy Spirit to others within our church. Not only that, but we rob others of the benefit of displaying the fruits of the Spirit to us when we need it the most.

Here are some ways we can demonstrate the fruit of the spirit to the world through regular church attendance:

The Word

God has appointed pastors to lead their flocks. God has given them a particular word to share with their flock each week. We miss out on the beauty of studying and knowing the word together when we don’t attend church regularly. Although it is easy to flip on a television and listen to another pastor, staying committed to the local church and the leaders appointed to lead them is essential.

We miss out on the beauty of studying and knowing the word together when we don’t attend church regularly.

In the end, they will be responsible for our spiritual growth. Listen to what they have to say each week. Test it through your reading of the Scriptures. Challenge others with what you’ve learned. Ask questions if necessary. Please do what you must to understand the word thoroughly and exemplify it to the world around you.

Worship

It gives God glory when we sing songs and hymns of praise to him. We were never meant to sing hymns or worship God alone. The best way we can do that is to join our other brothers and sisters in Christ each week and worship him. Even if the songs are not your preference, lay aside your desires and seek to worship with the body. Do it for the glory of God, not for your glorification.

Service

Churches that are growing have ample service opportunities. You can give back to your local community, but you can also help people in third-world countries where you cannot be present. For example, you can donate supplies or money to a team going out to an impoverished nation to help those in need. When natural disasters abound, many people need help with simple supplies like water, first aid kits, etc. You can supply a heater, medical supplies, or food to someone in need. Think of how wonderful heaven will be when you meet all the people you helped but never knew here.

When we worship together each week, we understand and sharpen those fruits. When we accept the challenge and allow our leadership to equip us, we go out into the world and demonstrate Christ’s likeness to an unbelieving world. Because of our example, people are drawn to Christ and achieve the gift of salvation.