Growing up my family attended church fairly regularly. Every Sunday, if we managed to get up in time, we would put on our stiff dress clothes and head to the large building in the middle of town. Once my Sunday school class was over, I would join my parents in service, and after an hour of attempting not to fall asleep or drop my juice down the front of my dress, we would all go out to eat.

The routine held until my brother began to play select baseball nearly every day of the week, including Sundays. We slowly stopped attending church at all, rarely even going for Easter or Christmas. There was always some excuse, from “too much to do” to “the weather is awful.”

After a few years of not stepping foot in a church building, I had a rather significant change of heart at a gas station in Coppell and started attending church regularly.

Every Sunday I drive roughly twenty minutes to my small church for youth and service, followed by lunch nearly every week. Since I started attending my current church, there has not been a Sunday I have missed for anything less than the flu or being in a different part of the state.

Whether the sermon is something thought-provoking and heavy or a strange animal runs across the roof causing a 10-minute distraction, I always leave each week with a smile on my face with a new set of great memories. Church also gives me a chance to meet with other Christians and discuss faith and life.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25. This verse explains that we should keep relationships with other believers through meeting and discussing our struggles with God. This even explicitly states that some may waiver, but you must continue attending regardless. Church is what brings us together.

Jesus himself attended church on a regular basis, as is documented several times throughout the Bible. While back then church was held on Saturdays, Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday, which is why Christians celebrate the Sabbath and have their day of worship on Sunday. This gives a concrete answer to the famous question “What Would Jesus Do?”

Church is where we hear more about God. Christians believe that the Bible is God’s word meaning that they should go to church because the Bible tells them to. While the Bible is the only direct way to hear the word of God, we need to hear from others as well in order to truly understand what we read in the Bible. Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:17.

This verse explains that hearing the message of God builds faith and while the Bible does give us the message, God also works through others and we must recognize they are put in our paths to share God with us. As the bible says, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5. We need to listen to others views to truly understand God, instead of relying on what we think we learn from what we read.

Going to church is a personal choice. In the end, it is up to you to decide whether or not to get up every Sunday and go somewhere to meet with others and discuss your faith. However, the Bible does tell us many times that church is necessary. Church is a place to grow in your faith and strengthen your relationship with Christ and other believers. Church is important for all of us to really see God outside of our own views.

Okay, let’s get this straight. Growing up a Catholic was, well, the opposite of heaven. For years, church felt like a chore that just kept wearing on me. Every Sunday my mother would quickly come into my room and force me to leave the comforts of my bed, get dressed into an uncomfortable outfit and then at 9 o’clock, I would find myself stuck in a room learning how to be a “proper Catholic” in order to receive my communion.

After many Sundays of forcing myself to believe, God was still a thing I couldn’t fathom. That thought alone started to wear and tear at my beliefs of life. I started to question the validity of God. Later on, my family stopped going to church altogether because of many particular reasons, but despite this disconnection my faith grew stronger.

Even though I did join another church, this was not the reason my faith was renewed. Late at night I would sit in my bed and just talk. I would talk about my day, ask random questions and most of all, I would pray. I started to see my world changing and blossoming around me. Most of my questions would be solved and my prayers would be answered.

Despite my absence at church my relationship with God was a brand new side of Christianity I had never seen before. Many Christians are taught from a young age to go to church every Sunday. But by not going to church every Sunday there is ample opportunity to individually interpret the Bible. This has played a major role in renewing my faith; the Bible has confirmed many questions I had regarding the validity Christianity. It has also taught me many life lessons that were never covered in the many years I spent at my church.

Contrary to popular belief, the Bible does not specifically say church is required on Sunday. The Bible says Remember to keep holy on the Sabbath Day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. No work may be done then… In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord has blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-10.

Going to church does strengthen your understanding of the Bible, but it doesn’t necessarily strengthen your love for God. Ample amounts of people attend church only to say they go, not because they have a deep connection with the almighty.

For others, church is the only way they can connect with God throughout the week. But for the few, like myself, it just repeats lessons already known by heart. Church is a wonderful thing, but it also does not make or break my relationship with God. So take it as you may, church is a personal choice that each person individually has to decide between dedicating the time in church, on your own or not at all.