Do I Have to Go to Church to Follow Jesus?

HOOK

Let me start with a simple picture. Imagine a guy who absolutely loves football. He watches every Sunday, wears the jersey, knows every stat. He screams at the screen and tells the coach what to do. But he’s never played a single down.

Can he really say he’s in the game?

Some of us approach our faith like that. We watch. We know some of the plays. We might even wear the shirt. But we’re not in the game.

And that brings us to today’s question: **"Do I really have to go to church to follow Jesus?"

It’s a fair question. Especially on a day like Father’s Day. Because if we’re honest, for a lot of men—and for a lot of people in general—church feels optional. It feels like something you do if you have time. Something for the kids or for your spouse. Or for the holidays.

But what if church was never supposed to be a box you check—but the environment where your faith grows?

What if the very things we long for—purpose, strength, resilience, legacy—are tied to the spiritual family God calls us into?

Prayer

HEAD

Let’s go straight to Scripture and theology to ground our thinking.

What Is The Church?

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:27 “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”

This means we aren’t just individual Christians doing our thing. We are connected.

Every part matters. Every part is needed. Including you.

To follow Jesus and ignore the Body is like saying, “I love the Head, but not the rest of Him.”

Early Church Father Cyprian of Carthage once said:

“You cannot have God for your Father unless you have the Church for your mother.”

Jesus Calls Us into a People

1 Peter 2:9 says, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.”

Notice the language. People. Nation. Priesthood.

The gospel doesn’t just create saved individuals—it forms a redeemed community.

Almost every 2nd person pronoun in the New Testament is plural.

You weren’t saved into isolation. You were saved into a spiritual family.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, put it bluntly:

“There is no holiness but social holiness.”

That doesn’t mean holiness is about being social. It means we become holy together. In groups. In community. In the local church.

Historically, the Church is Essential to Christian Engagement

Hebrews 10:23–25 NLT

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing from a Nazi prison, said:

“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others.”

Church is not a country club or a spectator event. It is the embodied presence of Jesus in the world.

HEART

Let’s bring this a little closer to home. Especially for the men listening today.

Because a lot of us were raised to be strong, independent, self-reliant.

We were taught: Don’t need anyone. Don’t show weakness. Don’t depend on a group.

But hear me clearly:

Church is not about weakness. Church is about strength.Strength that lasts. Strength that serves. Strength that gets passed to the next generation.

We all want to be strong. But strength doesn’t grow in isolation.

Illustration: Redwood Trees

Redwoods are some of the tallest trees in the world—over 300 feet high. But their roots are only about 6-12 feet deep. So how do they stand? Their roots interlock. They hold each other up.

You want to stand strong? Interlock your life with others in the Body of Christ.

And the data backs this up.

A 2018 Harvard study found that young adults who attend church weekly are:

• 18% more likely to report high happiness,

• 29% more likely to say they have a strong sense of purpose,

• and 33% less likely to struggle with substance abuse.

That’s not just tradition. That’s transformation.

Barna reports that church-attending Christians are twice as likely to report meaningful friendships and emotional peace.

Church isn’t a crutch. It’s a catalyst.

HANDS

So what do we do with this? Let me give you three practical invitations:

Reframe Church

It’s not just a service. It’s the soil where your faith grows. It’s the training ground for how to follow Jesus in real life. It’s the family table where we receive grace, truth, correction, and love.

Start Showing Up with Purpose

Don’t just attend. Engage. Join a group. Serve on a team. Show up and look for someone to encourage.

Be a spiritual father. A spiritual mother. A spiritual brother or sister.

Let your presence be a gift to others.

Leave a Legacy

Whether or not you had a good father, or are one, this is your opportunity to be part of a family that shapes futures.

The Church is God’s Plan A for healing the world. You want to be part of something that matters? Get in the game.

Closing

Is Jesus enough? Of course He is.

But Jesus never called anyone to follow Him alone. He called us into a people. A body. A church.

The Church isn’t perfect. But it is where imperfect people are being transformed by a perfect Savior.

Together.

Let’s be the Church. Let’s grow. Let’s get in the game.