Why I Went Back to In Person Church

What does Sunday morning worship look like for you right now? Maybe you feel like you are getting everything you need online. Maybe, during the current times, you feel the need to stay home for the safety of your family or those who are vulnerable around you. Maybe you prefer going to church in your PJs or maybe you enjoy the convenience of just having to get the kids down the stairs and not having to dress them up. Or, maybe you aren’t attending in any way right now. I am not going to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. We are all on our own journey with Jesus! I am, however, going to tell you why I went back to worshipping God in person, at church on Sunday mornings (besides the obvious … it’s my job to be there!).

To be honest, I really enjoyed doing at home worship on Sunday mornings for the last few months. (Pause for dramatic gasp from the audience . . . ). You heard me. I am a pastor, and it was a welcomed break to be home and do church on Sunday mornings for the last few months. For me, Sundays are usually packed full! I always experience such joy teaching the kids about Jesus on Sunday morning, spending time with our kid’s ministry volunteers, serving together, and visiting with people in the foyer before, in between and after services. To have a couple of months worth of Sundays where all I had to do was roll out of bed, walk downstairs, prepare some coffee (or elements for communion – depending on the day!) and turn on the TV for our church’s service . . . that was such a drastic change from the working, serving, and visiting that I was used to! It felt calm and relaxed. No running around begging people to volunteer today in Kid’s Ministry because a volunteer forgot to show up. No prepping materials for the morning and no being pulled in eight hundred different directions. No being asked all the questions. And, best of all, no having to get up on stage at church to do announcements (I mean, I don’t mind it once I’m up there, but usually talking in front of four hundred people makes me a little nervous!). All of this to say, I really needed to evaluate my heart motive when our leadership at church decided it was time to start up in person services again. And by decided to start up, I mean that it’s something that we saw as valuable and possible to do within the safety restrictions and guidelines given to us by our government during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Right now, in person church looks different than what we are used to. There are less people, we aren’t allowed to sing, we have to stay six feet apart, no shaking hands at the door, no kids ministry, etc. I really struggled heading into our first Sunday – and honestly I struggled with that first Sunday as it was happening. Everything seemed strange. All I could see that morning was how different everything was. But then, heading into the next Sunday, I felt God tug on my heart to do a heart evaluation. To ask myself the question: Why am I showing up here? So I inquired of myself. I realized that my motivations were truly negative and I needed to take off that filter and replace it with the God filter. In that, God reminded me the importance of gathering together.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

According to Hebrews 10, we must not neglect to meet together. Why? It is our duty as a follower of Jesus to encourage other believers, point each other towards Jesus and to encourage one another to live and love like Him. So, the next Sunday as I headed into in person church I asked the Holy Spirit to show me who was there that I could love on and encourage in the name of Jesus. And, like He always does, He showed me someone. I was able to sit with a brother in Christ who was hurting, to listen to him and to pray with him, all the while wearing a mask and sitting the appropriate six feet a part. COVID-19 and any safety restrictions associated with that did not stop or even hinder the message of Hebrews 10 or the mission of the Holy Spirit. And so, that’s why I will be attending in person church on Sundays. I am going to continue to ask God to prepare my heart each week and then to show up and see what He sees. I will continue to ask for opportunity to love my brothers and sisters in Jesus and to point them towards Him. What a blessing to be able to do that for one another! It was crucial for me to throw off my Sunday morning church expectations – you know, those things we are so used to having at church – and to remember what’s important. So what if we can’t sing? There are plenty of other ways to worship God. So what if we don’t have kid’s ministry? The kids are just as much a part of the body of Christ as the rest of us – so let’s enjoy this time where we are all together in the service worshipping intergenerationally. So what if we have to wear masks and physically distance? We have to do what we have to do and a simple mask and some distance does nothing to hinder the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. So what? The mission and call of God is bigger and more important than how I feel about the changes to church right now. This is how I was convicted and the reason why I will be attending and engaging in our in person church services.

Each week I think we should discern for ourselves if we should be going back in person and asking God for our why. And, in the midst of that, making sure that our ‘why’ is aligned with his heart and not governed by anything from the enemy. This goes with anything we do in our lives! The enemy, Satan, knows that one of our chief, human downfalls is selfishness. So many sinful choices that we make in a day are measured against that one downfall. Why are you staying online for at home church? Why are you choosing to go back to in person church? No matter which side you are on right now, measure your motives. Ask Jesus to search you and check your heart. Ask Him to reveal in truth what your why truly is for doing either. Again, it’s one of those moments to pause and do a heart check. Maybe your reasons are totally aligned with His heart! Awesome, then this is an affirmation of that. But if they aren’t (like mine the first week back to in person church!) it’s better to know and ask for His forgiveness and help rather than continuing to fool yourself by thinking you’re doing what you’re doing for some other reasons. And trust me, I fool myself all of the time! Heart checks are important.

“Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 139:23-24

I think the question to ask yourself is also deeper than whether or not you should stay at home for online church or show up in person. Although that might be the basic, starting question, the true question is “what is God asking me to do right now?” You see, I am a firm believer that the greatest commandments that Jesus shares (Matthew 22), to love God and love others, are relevant always and forever. What I mean is, even in the midst of a world wide pandemic we need to be loving God and others to the best of our ability. Just because we have chosen to stay indoors to be safe does not diminish that commandment and calling in our lives. Before church started up in person again, I was convicted by this very thought. Even if we didn’t yet see it safe to meet for church in the building with lots of people, how could I be the church from home with maybe a few? My husband and I decided to invite another family in for church that next Sunday. We set up our living room to allow for physical distancing, and we invited a family over to come and worship God with us. We tuned into our church’s service together, at home, and live. Afterwards, we were able to safely hang out, minister to one another and spend time together. I am so glad God put that on my heart! If you feel like staying home and tuning in online for church right now is what God is asking you to do, then do so while still investing in Jesus’ commandments to love Him and other people. That might not even look like how I described above! But take the time to see the value and ask God what He would have you do.

I know, there are a lot of factors at play right now in the world and maybe for you this question of in person or online church is even more complicated. I get it. I have no idea the circumstance that you are in. But, like always, I wanted to share with you the journey that Jesus is taking me on and share with you His Word. God has something for you in this season. He is always calling us to love Him and to love others. The way that it is executed in your life at certain times might change, but the truth never does. Praying for those of you who read this as you navigate this current situation. I hope that the things that I have been thinking about and dealing with in my own heart can help you on your journey with Jesus – blessing you and leading you closer to Him.

Written by: Justine Joy