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Yes, attending Church does in fact matter. But Church is not truly the issue at hand. Attending Church only matters when we define church as simply a fellowship with the body of believers. Most often this takes the form of regular attendance with a local congregation of Christians. But the trap that so many Christians can fall into is assuming that as long as you are attending Church, you are doing what God wants. This assumption is fundamentally flawed. It is not the act of attending Church regularly that is important, but rather the relationship you hold to the Church and its members.

To participate with the body of believers is to engage in ministry with fellow believers, praising in one accord and with one mind. This means coming together in corporate praise and worship, discussing God's word in small groups and confessing your sins with one another in order to strengthen your walks together as a body, instead of simply seeing your faith as something that is only yours. There is not a single reference in the Bible to a "personal relationship with Jesus Christ". There is an appropriate point at which your own faith must be your own, but the community of believers in Acts should point to the kind of fellowship we should expect with one another, which is one of giving, sharing and of love.

When we have engaged our fellow believers in meaningful relationships and in experiences that are challenging us, we can then say we have finally found the kind of Church experience that screams "Yes, Church does matter". If you are involved with a Church for the sake of it, then I must say that while your intentions may be right, it is not what Paul meant when he spoke of being one body with many parts. We have a role to play, and that means being active in the Lord's body so that His work may be done.

The Church is also a powerful institution for setting in motion all sorts of social reform. In James we read "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" Charles Spurgeon put it wonderfully when he said "The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul". How are we to effectively live a life of love in the name of Christ if we are not moved to action by the injustices of this world? The Church should be feeding the poor, healing the sick and giving a voice to those that have none, all out of love for one another. The Church, as Christ's body, is the very vehicle by which God chooses most often to move for

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