Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:23-25

As we make our way through life, a variety of changes occur within us. One of those things is a sense of ownership. It happens at a young age, even when we don’t realize it. As humans, we tend to want things, and we tend to want control of them.

My oldest kids (now 12 and 10), are already at the stage of, “When can I have my own phone?” Prior to that it was wanting their own room, wanting their own toys, new clothes, etc. You may already be asking yourself, what does that have to do with the title of this post?! Well, there’s probably a wide range of reasons to get involved in something, but when I was thinking about that question a reoccurring answer came to my mind. We get involved in things because we want ownership in it, or to have some level of control. That ownership adds value into something we cherish. It increases our desire to use and take care of something. It becomes more than something we view as a fleeting object or entity.

My goal for this post is to discuss my thoughts on why we should get involved at church.

Increase the value of your relationship with God.

Grow your desire to be in God’s presence.

Help others grow in their faith and point their hearts to God.

For most of my life when I was attending church, I was not willing to be a participant in serving the church. The value of church in my life, I considered minimal in the grand scheme of everything. Any aspect of volunteering at church I did with grumbling, and my heart was certainly not in the right place.

In the last several months, as I came back to church with a much different heart and mind, I have noticed how I feel more invested in and part of the church. My intentional fellowship has changed from not wanting to be close with anyone in the church to initiating and cultivating Christian friendships that hold value beyond two hours a week. By fellowship, as called to do so in the book of Hebrews mentioned above, my own faith continues to grow. I’m embracing more and more opportunities to share my redemption story, the love of God, and my hope for others to fully embrace Christ as Lord of our lives. The value of my relationship with God increases exponentially with my involvement.

When we spend time getting involved in anything, it almost always leads to a desire to do more and better. In my experience so far, the more I’ve become involved and interacting (sermon slide presentation, small group, and men’s groups development), the more I want to continually improve my life with God. When all of us involved in the church are desiring better personal relationships with God, there is no other possible outcome aside from overall improvement as His church, His people, and His witnesses. God blesses our desire to seek Him in all we do.

But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet, I am going to show you a far better way. – 1 Corinthians 12:31

Finally, as we learn to hold more value in our relationship with God, increasing our desire to be in His presence and do His good works, we also see our hearts long to spread the Good News of Jesus, and bring more people into relationship with Him. Even more so, we have a duty to one another to encourage each other in faith and righteousness. I’m so thankful for the men I now have in my life asking me intentionally what I need prayer for, what I am struggling with, and where I’m doing well to encourage me. Left to our own devices, we often fail because our flesh desires the opposite of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit desires the opposite of our flesh (Galatians 5:17). I’ve grown to appreciate those around me who correct me in love, as I now see that it’s an act of caring for my soul and my salvation. It’s definitely hard at times, but a vitally important part of our faith. That in conjunction with the Holy Spirit continually points my heart to God. Therefore it is our duty to do the same for others.

Delight in the Lord my friends, for He is good, holy, and our Savior!