{"id":9117,"date":"2020-07-17T11:19:02","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T15:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?p=9117"},"modified":"2020-07-17T11:19:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T15:19:03","slug":"three-reasons-your-church-engagement-is-all-the-more-important-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/2020\/07\/three-reasons-your-church-engagement-is-all-the-more-important-now.html","title":{"rendered":"THREE REASONS YOUR CHURCH ENGAGEMENT IS ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT NOW"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/garycombsorg.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Hands.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9125\" width=\"455\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garycombsorg.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Hands.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/garycombsorg.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Hands-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/garycombsorg.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Hands-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 455px) 100vw, 455px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV) <sup>22<\/sup>&nbsp;Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. <sup>23<\/sup>&nbsp;Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. <sup>24<\/sup>&nbsp;And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, <sup>25<\/sup>&nbsp;not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>For two thousand years, Christians have regularly gathered together as members of the body of Christ, which is the Church. Whether they gathered in secret, during times of persecution, or in public, in times of freedom, they gathered. Whether it was during a plague, or a time of prosperity, they gathered. Indeed, it was usually during times of persecution or plague that the church grew the most.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Not today. Even before COVID-19, church attendance in America had been in decline. Since COVID, an even more precipitous plunge in church engagement has taken place. I\u2019m emphasizing the word \u201cengagement\u201d here because this is not about whether one attends in-person or online. It\u2019s about whether or not they are truly engaged with fellow believers in the church. For one can attend in-person and never fully engage with the worship, the fellowship, nor the ministry of serving others. Sure, actually attending in-person makes engagement easier, but not automatic. It takes more personal effort to engage online, but it is possible.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>However, by and large, online engagement isn\u2019t really happening. Listen to these sobering results from The Barna Group\u2019s latest survey of churches in the US (Barna\u2019s survey refers to online attendance only):<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cAmid the pandemic, churches were forced to shut their doors and begin streaming Sunday services online. The switchover was well-received by some, but unpopular with others.\u00a0Research has revealed that one in three practicing Christians has stopped attending church services.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The poll conducted last week by the research firm found:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>35 percent are still attending their pre-COVID church.<\/li>\n<li>32 percent are no longer attending church.<\/li>\n<li>14 percent have switched to a new church.<\/li>\n<li>And 18 percent are watching worship services from different churches each month.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Barna&#8217;s research showed a pattern between the different generations of practicing Christians who attend church online.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>50 percent of Millennials have stopped attending church.<\/li>\n<li>17 percent of Generation X attend a new church.<\/li>\n<li>40 percent of Baby Boomers stayed at the same church.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To many, online Church attendance has become like watching any other program. It\u2019s a passive watching for the sake of personal preference and enjoyment. This approach is not engagement with other believers for mutual edification, but self-edification. Some choose their favorite worship music from one online site, then switch to a different site for their favorite preacher, and call it church. But it isn\u2019t. Because while the church is not the steeple, it is the people. It doesn&#8217;t have to meet in a building, but it does have to meet together somewhere for the spiritual health and obedience of its members.<\/p>\n<p>So it shouldn\u2019t be a surprise that church engagement has fallen severely post-COVID. Online engagement is harder. And as a result, church members are struggling not only spiritually, but emotionally and physically as well.<\/p>\n<p>Active engagement means joining the online service while it is streaming live. It means actually singing the worship songs, taking sermon notes, completing an online Connection Card, making an online offering and engaging others on social media. It also means being part of a Community Group during the week where mutual edification can be practiced even more deeply. It means serving one another according to one\u2019s gifting and the needs of others.<\/p>\n<p>And the needs are great. In fact, they are growing because of the consequences of COVID stay-at-home orders, racial tensions, the caustic political climate, the economic downturn, etc.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In a recent article by the Religion News Service, Jamie Aten, director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, is quoted saying that congregations must prepare to help people deal with a wide range of mental health challenges as never before. The article goes on to say:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cAnd the challenges that existed before the coronavirus haven\u2019t just gone away, according to Aten. Those include depression, anxiety, grief and addictions, as well as child abuse and domestic violence. \u2018The pandemic is compounding those mental health struggles and amplifying them, plus creating new mental health struggles that people may not have been experiencing prior to the pandemic,\u2019 Aten said.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The number of Americans reporting depression and anxiety symptoms has more than tripled since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from an emergency weekly Census Bureau survey.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Research has shown that spiritual support can reduce stress, trauma and anxiety amid crises, according to Aten. But that often happens face to face, he said, which is problematic when people are asked to stay at least six feet apart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The troubling statistics of declining church engagement combined with the increasing mental health challenges among the individuals and families in our communities, leads to the reasons why church engagement is all the more important now.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Three reasons church engagement is all the more important now:<\/b><\/h4>\n<h4><b>1. Because drawing near to God in corporate worship encourages our hearts.<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Notice the three \u201clet us\u201d commands in Hebrews 10:23-25 at the beginning of this article. The first is found in verse 22,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>which says, \u201cLet us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.\u201d Notice the plural invitation, \u201cLet us.\u201d You can\u2019t do \u201clet us\u201d by yourself. Combine this plural imperative with the phrase \u201cdraw near\u201d and you have an encouragement to worship the Lord together. It is an invitation to draw near to God and to one another in corporate worship.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The increase of depression and anxiety among our flock is real. So is the spiritual malaise and lack of passion among even committed believers. Yet, drawing near together in worship encourages our hearts. It helps alleviate depression and anxiety. It fans into flame our passion.<\/p>\n<h4><b>2. Because holding fast to our confession of faith together encourages our minds.<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Notice the second \u201clet us\u201d command in Hebrews 10:23, \u201cLet us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.\u201d This is an invitation to hold on tight to our faith by holding on to one another, declaring the tenets of our faith through song and Scripture and mutual confession.<\/p>\n<p>During this time, many are struggling with fear and doubt. Gathering together as the church helps overcome our fears and defeats our doubts. It encourages our minds.<\/p>\n<h4><b>3. Because stirring one another up to loving service encourages our hands.<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Finally, notice the third \u201clet us\u201d in Hebrews 10:24-25, \u201cAnd let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is an invitation to \u201cconsider\u201d ways to keep one another active in being the hands of Christ in this world. It is not an invitation to consider yourself, but others. It is a command to come together to \u201cstir up one another,\u201d to motivate one another, to get busy loving and serving others. Indeed, the best way to help yourself, is often to take your eyes off yourself and to help someone else.<\/p>\n<p>The Scripture mentions the fact that many fall into a bad \u201chabit\u201d of \u201cneglecting\u201d the fellowship. So in response, a better habit is proposed, namely, to meet together \u201call the more\u201d with even more intensity and regularity for mutual encouragement and sharpening, especially as we see the &#8220;Day&#8221; of Christ&#8217;s return approaching.<\/p>\n<p>Psychologists suggest that it takes four to six weeks to make a new habit. A lot of believers have fallen into a new habit of isolation and doing life without the church during COVID. They have become inactive in attendance and in service. It will be challenging for them to break this habit of neglecting the fellowship and return to the flock. Their habit of neglect is affecting their minds and souls and especially their hands. For as the needs in our community grow, the number of available loving hands has greatly declined. Yet, thinking of ways to stir one another up, whether online or in-person, will increase the number of loving hands available for service.<\/p>\n<h4><b>How are you doing in this?<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Your personal engagement with the church is needed now more than ever. Where is your heart, your mind, and your hands today? Are you out there isolated and alone? Struggling with fear and anxiety? Doubting your faith? Losing your passion? Declining to serve others? If you\u2019re struggling as a believer, just imagine how others are doing.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Will you let us know how you are doing and how we can help you stay engaged with the church? Will you join us in obeying the \u201cLet Us\u201d commands of Scripture?<\/p>\n<p>Please follow this link to respond to our <a href=\"https:\/\/wccnc.churchcenter.com\/people\/forms\/152147\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cHow are you doing?\u201d survey<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The troubling statistics of declining church engagement combined with the increasing mental health challenges among the individuals and families in our communities, leads to why church engagement is all the more important now.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2060,2061,2062],"tags":[2267,2214,2663,2801,2784,2121,2029,2802,2216,2800,2050],"location":[],"class_list":["post-9117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","category-religion","category-weblogs","tag-anxiety","tag-church","tag-church-attendance","tag-church-engagement","tag-depression","tag-fear","tag-fellowship","tag-participation","tag-service","tag-spiritual-health","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/garycombsorg.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Hands.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9117"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9138,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9117\/revisions\/9138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9117"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=9117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}