Do you remember WHY you left your Home Church?
One day we will all meet Jesus, face to face. What an awesome, wonderful and fearful thing that is to think about. God made Jesus the head of the church, so it is not beyond reason to think that He (Jesus) has a vested interest in you as a part of the church. He wants you to be a member of His body.
“He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (Col. 1:18)
In over 35 years of ministry, I have heard a lot of reasons for people leaving the church. Without fail, the person telling me their reason was completely convinced that they had good cause to leave. In other words, no one has ever told me “I am leaving the church pastor, I really don’t have a reason.” Most reasons given fit into these categories:
Moving
You or someone in the church offended me
My friends are going to another church and I like it better
I am giving up on my faith for now to pursue my wants
Major life change has rearranged my priorities and church no longer fits my open availability.
There is always a deeper issue at work in the life of those who walk away from their home church. There are some valid reasons for leaving a church and the first one listed is an obvious one another one would be that the church is Spiritually unhealthy.: The people and the pastor are not connected to the head (Jesus Christ).
It has been my experience that too often people leave their home church for the wrong reasons. There are no perfect people and no perfect churches. Often the trials we face in our home church are part of God at work growing us up and helping us love better, live better and act better. If we run away we do not learn, grow and develop. We bring the issues of our life with us to the next church and so God goes to work on us again and unless we stay we will continue to repeat the patterns and broken behaviors that prevent us from getting closer to God and each other.
GOOD NEWS! This Sunday September 15th, 2019 is “BACK TO CHURCH” Sunday. All over our nation people are returning to their home church. If you do not have a home church we want to invite you to join us 10:30am at the Grace Place Church This Sunday is a great Sunday to go to church and make it a habit. We need a spiritual community to surround us as we walk through life’s struggles, challenges and crises. I love our church and church family and am so grateful they are walking through life with me and my family. Give us a chance to welcome you Home.