Is Church Really Necessary?

By Deborah Lambeth

We've all seen the Bible-toting "preachers" on the corner or the Gideon Bibles in hotel and hospital rooms. We've also seen the televised church services of "mega" churches - churches that have over 5,000 members. There are many other ways that religious people reach out to others to make sure they are "saved." The question, "what am I being saved from?" always comes up in conversations about salvation, faith and beliefs. Indeed, if we are saved from something, then where are we going to once we're saved?

In some Protestant denominations, there are programs designed primarily for outreach and evangelism. "Evangelism Explosion," was designed in 1972 by Coral Ridge Ministries in Florida primarily to save people and grow churches. The program is seemingly simple-memorize scripture and help lead an unbeliever to Christ. The problem with this program, though, is that in determining a person's "belief or unbelief" the potential convert has to answer two questions;

1. If you died tonight, do you know where you'd go?
2. If you died tonight and stood before God, why should he let you into his heaven?

Seemingly benign questions - but answered "incorrectly" and the person that is trying to lead you to Christ will start peppering you with the scriptures they have memorized - totally and somewhat ignoring the relational aspect of helping a person make a decision of faith.

Jesus' ministry was one of relationship building and nurture. Most evangelism "programs" miss the relational component. Once the evangelizers lead you to Christ, they leave you to find your own church and group of people with whom you can identify. But is church really necessary for the continuation of our "salvation"? Is going to church important? Many would say yes, that going to church is important. Others would argue that going to church is not necessary for salvation especially since scripture says that God loves, is all knowing and forgiving.

In order to come to the conclusion that church is not necessary, it would seem that a person has to go to church to determine whether it needs to be an important aspect of their life or not. Many people find the fellowship that church affords a wonderful opportunity to get to know people, make friends, and have a social outlet. Others find church inspiring and uplifting, as it is their "routine" on Sunday in order to face the upcoming week. Some people find church a good place to dialog and "flesh out" the scriptures - the meanings they had long ago and how they apply to our lives today. These are all good reasons to go to church. However, not going to church does not diminish a faith decision.

While making a faith decision is an important one, it is also very private and the expression of that decision is personal and individual. Certainly going to church can enhance a person's decision, but it is not necessary for that faith decision to "stick." In the Bible, in the book of John, the scripture doesn't say, "Once you believe, you must always go to church and you will stay saved." The scripture very simply says, "Once you believe, you are always saved." Furthermore, nothing we do or don't do will separate us from that decision to believe. Nothing.