Circuit Thoughts

Your church needs you. Let me repeat that; your church needs you.

Okay, I know that summer is upon us. I realize that this is the time for family fun and time in the sun. I realize your weekends are going to be filled with times of travel, floating, camping and just regular good times. But summer also means a decline in attendance at church and struggles to maintain ministries for our communities.

I like a vacation as much as the next person, and everyone needs a break, but we cannot neglect the gift that is our churches.

Our churches make the world a better place. By having a safe place to worship, learn and grow we can lead people to a deeper relationship with Christ. We are called to make disciples and lead people to Christ; thus, we need to make sure our churches are functioning at full throttle all the time.

I can hear you saying, “Well preacher, isn’t it your job to make sure the doors stay open, and the people are taught?” Yes, but you, the congregation, are also ministers and the support system. Preaching to an empty church is very difficult. That is only part of the reason the church needs you.

Look, I’m not asking you to stop having fun this summer. Neither am I saying that going on vacation is wrong. What I am saying is, don’t neglect your church. There is too much riding on it. There are too many people that need to hear the word of God and quite frankly, there aren’t enough preachers to go around.

Christ calls us to make disciples of all the world. But to do that, we need people to worship and attend church. An empty church does nothing but collect dust. During the summer, there is an awful lot of dust collected in the churches.

So, here is what I suggest. When you make your vacation plans, make church part of those plans. Make sure every Sunday includes worship somewhere. If you are staying home and enjoying the evening activities at the park, don’t neglect your Sunday and Wednesday night bible study and worship opportunities.

And, if your church is doing Vacation Bible School, volunteer. Yes, volunteer to help in some capacity. Children are hungry for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and VBS is a great place for them to get introduced to it. If you have teenagers, encourage them to help at church and to lead.

For me the bottom line is, get to church. Make church a priority, rather than something you would do if there was nothing else to do. You can arrange your summer so that your schedule works around building the kingdom of God.

Summer is a great time for family and friends. There is nothing wrong with bringing them to church. The church needs you there, and honestly, you need the church.

More importantly, Christ wants you, and that in itself should be enough to make church your priority.

Shalom my friends.

See you in church.