Time to go back to church?

   Did you know that September 18^th has been chosen as “National Back to Church Sunday?” Back to church? That implies that people haven’t been coming for awhile! Activities, outings and lots of other things seem to keep us from going, especially in the summer.  

   When my younger brother, Jim, decided to stay home and watch Sunday football games on television with dad, mom was in a quandary. Should she go to church with my sister and me, leaving dad and Jim (about six years old) at home? My parents must have had a heart to heart talk, because the next Sunday…and every available Sunday after that, the whole family attended together!

   I am glad that mom held her ground because being a smart nine-year old, I probably would have developed a sudden passion for football too! However, active involvement in church life   became a priority through college and many years of teaching as a single person and has continued to be important to Al and me throughout our marriage.

   Over the years, I have had the privilege of worshipping and serving God with other believers in various places and in many different ways. Under the umbrella of His “church,” God has become very personal to me. He has provided comfort and encouragement, has revealed His presence, poured out His love, strengthened my faith and helped me grow spiritually.

   One particular summer after my junior year in college, I was involved in a weekend outreach to people living down in South Central Los Angeles. Teams of two went from door to door in several neighborhoods taking a survey, praying with those we met along the way and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. For the most part, the responses to the survey questions were positive and people were friendly to the strangers knocking at their doors.

   On Sunday, several of us visited a small “storefront” church. It was a great opportunity to worship, pray and mingle with the people in that neighborhood. Unfortunately, I woke up with   a stabbing pain in one eye. Tears wouldn’t stop flowing. All of the symptoms pointed to a scratched cornea from one of my “hard” contact lenses, which would mean medical treatment as soon as possible.

   During the service, both eyes continued to water and the pain was intense. I finally went into the bathroom, uttering a prayer that went something like this: “Lord, I really need your help. Please touch my eye and heal it so that I can stay and worship with these people.” Then I went back into the crowded room and sat down.

    By the end of the service, the tears had stopped completely and the pain was gone. The sunglasses came off and contacts went back in! I was overjoyed that He had heard and answered my prayer. Healing happened in an unfamiliar setting—a little storefront church! God was there!

   When a Samaritan woman questioned Jesus about whether Mount Gerazim, sacred to her own people, or Jerusalem, sacred to the Jews, was the place to worship, His response was unexpected: “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:22-24 NIV

   The building or place of meeting isn’t important to God. What matters is our being there with open hearts, worshipping God and growing spiritually so that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world—a living and vibrant “church.”