From the very beginning, God designed us to be in relationship- with Him and with other believers. Unfortunately, in our busy culture, it can be easy to drift from faithful commitment to a church community in lieu of leisure trips, sporting events, and other extracurricular activities. A recent study found that families who regularly attend church now consider once a month to be their average attendance. If we are called in Scripture to not neglect meeting together (Hebrews 10:25) but to instead be invested in the body of Christ as a valuable and integral member of that body (Eph. 4:15-16), how can this be accomplished if we are only attending church once a month? What are we demonstrating to our children about our values if we prioritize things other than corporate worship on a weekend?

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“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”- Acts 2:42

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This verse isn’t just historical- it’s instructional. The early Christians devoted themselves to being together, growing in faith, praying, sharing meals, and supporting one another. Being part of a church community is part of being a faithful follower of Christ and being a faithful member of a church community requires regular investment and sacrifice.

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Here are a few practical ways you can practice faithfulness as a part of the body of Christ:

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• Faithful to attend

There are always going to be so many opportunities vying for your commitment, but one area we challenge you to be uncompromising in is your weekly church attendance. The faithful consistency really does matter, not for the sake of perfection or to look good in the eyes of others, but because setting aside a designated time to gather together with other believers to worship and to study the Word of the God sets the tone for the rest of the week. Regardless of how your church structures it, there is no greater glimpse of eternity here on earth than worshipping corporately with others.

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• Faithful to serve

All of us have been given spiritual gifts for the building up of the body of Christ. Being a faithful member of a church community means using those gifts to serve others. When we serve together with our family, we are actively living out the call of Joshua 24:15 to serve the Lord as a household. Through service, we model for our children an example of faith in action. Look for areas in your church that would accommodate whole family service, such as volunteering in the children’s ministry, being a greeter, helping with hospitality, or participating in a service project. Let’s not be content to sit on the sidelines anymore, let’s dive into doing what we can to help our church body grow and flourish.

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• Faithful to give

If you are members of a church community, Scripture makes it clear that we are to be invested not only in our time, but also with our money. We encourage you to start with the call to set aside 10% for the tithe and then seek the Lord on how else He might want you to give.

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