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When you walk into a home improvement store, what are you hoping to find? Most likely there’s a product you’re searching for. You may need to pick up a new light fixture or browse new power tools, but in the end, you’re looking for a particular product. 

When you walk into a nail salon, what are you hoping to find? Most likely it’s service related. You’re looking for a manicure, a pedicure, or both! You don’t enter a nail salon looking to buy weed-killer, and you don’t enter Home Depot looking to have your nails done. 

Here’s the point. 

The doors you enter say a lot about what you’re searching for. 

You walk through the doors of a restaurant in search of food. You walk through the doors of a gym in search of fitness. You walk through the doors of a library in search of books. 

You get the idea. 

Why does someone walk through the doors of a church? What exactly is that person searching for? What exactly are you searching for? 

I think there are two undeniable reasons people attend church: relationship with God and relationships with people. 

Contrary to the belief of some, church is not the place you go to purchase a product, receive a service, or find entertainment. Church is the people of God coming together to worship God and being sent into the world to live out the mission of God. 

Church is fundamentally about relationships–vertically and horizontally. 

Relationship with God. 

When people walk through the doors of a church, first and foremost, they’re searching for God. Is He real? Does He love me? Is there a purpose to life? Can I know God more? Can He make sense of the chaos around me? 

Please note, people aren’t searching for religion. They’re searching for a relationship. We weren’t designed to desire rituals and traditions, but we were designed to desire a relationship with our Maker. That longing is inside of all people–from the wealthiest to the poorest; from the educated to the uneducated; from the powerful to the powerless. 

Let’s be a church member who leads people to discover a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ! 

Relationships with People. 

Believe it or not, finding a relationship with God is not the only reason people attend church. The other undeniable reason is relationships with people. 

Imagine this. 

You walk into the grocery store to grab a few necessities on your list. As you grab a loaf of bread and place it in your cart, a stranger walks up and says, “Hey there! We are so glad you are here today! Are you interested in being part of a small group of other like-minded grocery shoppers?” 

You’d probably respond with a blank stare or nervously chuckle away the question as a joke. The reality is people don’t go to the store to find life-giving relationships. 

But it is one of the reasons people attend church. 

To be clear, Jesus should be our utmost focus at church. We’re there to worship him and share him with a lost world. But . . . don’t call me a heretic . . . Jesus is not the only reason. 

As you read the words of Scripture, you’ll find that God not only calls us into a relationship with him, but God also calls us into a relationship with others. (See Acts 2:42-47) We often call this community. Just like we were designed to desire a relationship with our Maker, we were also designed to live life with others in close proximity called community. 

When people walk through the doors of a church, they’re searching for that community. Will anyone notice I’m here? Will anyone really care how I’m doing? Do people have the same struggles I do? 

Why does this matter?

It matters because when you meet, greet, welcome, pass by, or sit next to someone at church, you’ve just encountered someone searching for community. It’s why they came. It’s why you came. On the outside, that person may look OK like they have it all together. But on the inside, their world could be falling apart, and they’re searching to see if there’s anyone who cares.

There is. And we do! 

Be a church member who leads people to discover life-giving relationships with people. 

Copyright © 2021 by Andy Comer @ https://antiochgt.com/blog/reasons-people-attend-church/. No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org.