Church Involvement

Portraits

• Carl, Joyce, and Kim are in service every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. But where is their son David, someone asks. “He’s, um, not feeling well” his mother answers.
• Ron is 16 and his parents demand that he participates in all church events during the week. Ron resents the church and his parents, so while he is there, if he’s not starting trouble, he’s ignoring everything besides his Ipod.
• Carla and the kids leave for service every Sunday morning. “Isn’t dad coming?” Turk Jr. asks. Carla looks down at him and says, “No, your father needs to work today.”

Definitions and Key thoughts

Research shows that families who attend church and are active in their faith are more likely to stick together.

Kids who are involved in their home church do better in school, and are less likely to participate in delinquent behaviors such as crime, premarital sex, or drug use.

Parental involvement in church activities increases the likelihood of having church-going adult children. In particular, father’s greatly influence their kid’s spirituality! When researchers asked the question, “what determines whether a child will go to church as an adult?” they found that some children who are bussed to church will attend when older, being brought to church as a child by one’s mother creates a higher likelihood of adult attendance, and for children led by their fathers—they are by far the most likely to attend church later in life![i]

Everyone should have a church body, and participate actively. However, there is a point where enough is enough.

Kids should be required to go to church, but perhaps not all church activities. Talk to your kids about what they like or don’t like about church.

If no one likes going to church, it is not time to quit church—it is time to find a different church.

Assessment Interview

1. How often does your family attend church?
2. Does the whole family agree this is a good amount to attend? Is not, how are there different opinions?
3. Do you all like this church?
4. Is there another church some of you would prefer attending?
5. Are you involved in any church programs such as small groups, Sunday school, or age-appropriate ministries?
6. Do you tithe?
7. Do you serve at the church in some fashion?
8. Are you members of the church board or leadership?
9. Do you disciple other in the church?
10. Are you being discipled by any particular persons?
11. If the church is not as you would like, what differences are you looking for?

Wise Counsel

New Research: Women in the church

According to the Barna Research Group, though men are the senior pastors of more than nine out of ten Protestant churches (and 100% of Catholic churches), women are the more responsible for the health and vitality of the Christian faith.

60% of church adherents are women, and 46% of US women have beliefs that classify them as born again Christian (compared to just 1/3 of men). 

9 out of every 10 women in the US consider themselves to be Christian (compared to 83% of men).

Women are more likely have a faith commitment, 75% reporting religious faith to be very important in their life (compared to 60% of men).

Moreover, women’s church and faith participation surpasses that of men in the following 12 areas. Women are:

29% more likely to attend church

33% more likely to volunteer at a church

100% more likely to be involved in discipleship

57% more likely to participate in adult Sunday school

54% more likely to participate in a small group

56% more likely to hold a leadership position at a church

23% more likely to donate to a church

29% more likely to share their faith with others

46% more likely to disciple others

39% more likely to have a devotional/quiet time

29% more likely to read the Bible

16% more likely to pray    (1)

Action Plan

If there is reluctance in some family member to become involved in the church, find out what the reluctance is.

• Is it a spiritual problem?
• Is the family member too tired to attend church?
• Is the family member not being spiritually fed at the church?
• Does the family member not like the church family?
• Does the family member not like the church programs/services?

Understanding the cause for the reluctance is the first important step in addressing the issue.

Find the Right Church

If it is decided that it is time to find a new church home, instruct the persons to stop doing what doesn’t work and begin the search ASAP.

Perhaps the family needs to make some calls, request some information from other churches in the area, and go visit a few different churches to see which congregation and church family will be the best fit for them.

Make sure they find a church where they can grow spiritually, and where they will want to spend time. Going to a church should not feel so much like a chore as it should be a highlight of the week.

Attendance & Involvement

Families should decide what level of church involvement will be mandatory for all members, and what involvement is voluntary. For instance, maybe the kids will be required to attend Sunday school and the full service on Sunday, but will not be required to attend youth group during the week.

Or, perhaps the kids will get a choice to go to church either Sunday morning or Sunday evening. These decisions will be dependant on the whole family’s preferences and the opportunities for worship, education and fellowship at the church.

Remember that more is not always better. If the family is already stressed with work, home duties, kid’s sports, school, family and other commitments, over-participating at the church may lead to resentment, as opposed to spiritual growth.

Biblical Insights

Matthew 16:18: And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

• The idea of the Church was designed intentionally by God
• In Mathew 16, Christ tells peter that not even the gates of Hades will overcome the church of God.

Acts 14:27: “On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” And Acts 15:4: “When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.”

• The Scriptures continually highlight the importance of Church involvement.
• In the above passages, the church is functioning as a group of believers that report and celebrate the progress of Christ’s message.

Acts 16:5 “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.”

• This short passage highlights two important points.
• Both the growth of a church in numbers, and the growth of the faith of the members of the church were important issue to early Christians.

Prayer Starter

Being part of a body of fellow believers is extremely important to one’s spiritual walk. We know this Lord, for that is what your Word shows us. But issues become more complicated when we look at all the different ways we and our families can participate in the Church. Lead us Lord, to be involved in ways which are most pleasing to you, and show us the amount of involvement that is best.

Recommended Resources

1 The Barna Group, March 6, 2000, Women Are the Backbone of the Christian Congregations in America: Study Shows the Importance of Women
to the Spiritual Climate of the U.S.