Attending church on Sunday morning is a fairly common tradition. But what about going to midweek service too? Does God have the right to request more hours out of your life?
Church attendance is the subject of a common saying: “Those that attend Sunday morning, love the preacher. Those that attend Sunday night, love the church, and those that attend midweek services, love the Lord.”
The saying has some merit. According to Rodney Cork ministry administrator at New Beginnings Fellowship Church, while salvation is a personal issue that takes place when you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, attending church is the next thing necessary for personal growth. For example, one does not get better at chess if they rarely participate in the game.
“When you attend church you grow as a Christian. By surrounding yourself with other like-minded Christians and hearing God’s word you can grow spiritually and begin to develop into the man or woman God is calling you to be. Sadly, many people only attend on Sunday mornings and never experience the fullness of Christianity,” said Cork.
Most reference their “only attending service Sunday morning” reasoning to the Lord’s reference in the 10 Commandments, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” Many assume the Sabbath means Sunday, but research indicates it’s generally a weekly day or time of worship.
The Bible also states in Hebrews 10:19-25: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised). And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Cooper Adams, minister of Castle Country Baptist Church in Utah and writer of Bible-truth.org states those verses tell Christians to do the following:
n Draw near with a true heart in the full assurance of faith (verse 22).
n Hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (verse 23).
n Provoke unto love and to good works (verse 24).
n Not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (verse 25).
n Exhort one another (verse 25).
Adams states the reason for doing these things is found in verse 19. Because we have been saved by Christ’s shed blood, we should boldly be seeking the closest possible relationship with Christ. Consistent church attendance is a part of that journey.
Peter Thuesen, chair of the department of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis believes that attending mid-week service can be hard due to people’s hectic schedules.
“People are so busy and pulled in so many different directions. It’s tough for religious communities to make those additional claims on people’s time. It doesn’t always work. But for people that are trying to make church their main source of belonging those types of midweek services can be important,” said Thuesen.
Podcast, a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio radio, or video that can be streamed online to a computer or mobile device, are becoming popular in churches. The Christian that is not able to attend midweek service may find a Podcast sermon convenient.
“The Internet has created the opportunities for virtual communities that religious organizations are now truly beginning to experiment with,” Thuesen added. “People can, to a certain degree, find a sense of connection to a religious tradition online. But nothing really replaces old-fashioned face-to-face contact.”
The term fair-weather Christian is rapidly becoming common in American churches today. The fair-weather Christian attends church when it’s convenient for them, finding any excuse not to follow suit during their journey of “getting ready for church.”
“Sunday attendance is fine, but the enemy attacks seven days a week. You need to arm yourself with as much of God’s word as you can to defend yourself,” Cork said. “The more opportunities you can fellowship with other Christians and hear God’s word, the better off you will be.”
