The New Testament is full of commands for Christians to gather together regularly for encouragement, discipleship and community. Not only that, we’re told as Christians 59 separate times to honor, care, love and serve one another within the context of the Church. According to the Bible, being involved in a local church and pouring our lives out for other believers in service and love is really a big deal.

But in our context, we seem to be missing something. The average American churchgoer only attends church 1.6 times per month, or roughly two out of every five weekends. Only about 21% of regular churchgoers consistently tithe to the work of their local church, and only about 34% of them regularly serve or volunteer. Sticking with just one church seems to be a challenge for us as well, as nearly 2 in 5 churchgoers report regularly attending multiple churches, while never committing to any of them. Not only that, criticizing churches and church leaders has become a favorite pastime and trending topic on most social media platforms. Churches get critiqued in online spaces a lot like restaurants, shops, or theaters and almost anything that doesn’t meet a person’s particular preference gets noticed and called out.

Could it that we’re seeing church as a product to consume instead of a family to belong to? How might we notice that mindset in ourselves and change the way we think and interact with the local church?