© Wendy Anne Clark, 2026

Recently, someone asked why going to church can be a hard thing to do. I think how we feel about going to church has a lot to do with how we understand why we are to go. 

We go because we are a part of something greater than ourselves, a Body whose head is Christ. We are told that consistently gathering with other believers is a protection for us (Hebrews 10:25).

We have gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building up others in the Body of Christ, which means that you have something that is for me, and I have something that is for you. 

I enter the gathering expecting that through God’s people I will be encouraged, even as I seek to encourage others. I expect that God will speak to me through His Word, no matter the skill of the preacher, and if I ever find that I am bored, I can pray for those around me.

I anticipate and appreciate how corporate worship is different from personal worship as we all come together to praise and honor God. I can worship with others in a way I never can do on my own. 

Will I sometimes encounter difficult, untransformed people? Yes. But they become a part of my personal mission, not a hindrance to it. How can I love them well? Stir them to holy living?  Carry them to the presence of Jesus? How can the Holy Spirit use them to make me more like Jesus?

A strong sense of purpose dispels weariness and burn out, no matter what we face, and an understanding of the purpose behind “going to church” will make it not so hard to do.