Four Ways Church Can Help You Become Your Healthiest Self
Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.
John Calvin
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another.
Hebrews 10:25
The church is a gathering place for worship and growth. But depending on your background and experiences, the idea of church may conjure up mixed emotions for you. Maybe you loved going to church as a child but haven’t been back since that college professor made you doubt the idea of faith. Maybe you come from a church steeped in formality and tradition, and you have memories of sitting on hard pews, in uncomfortable clothes, having to keep quiet. Perhaps someone in the church embarrassed or hurt you, and the experience turned you off in a way that has made going back difficult. Or maybe you have had positive, healthy experiences with the church and continue to go regularly but don’t always feel you are getting the most out of it.
Your experience with the local church—good, bad, or indifferent—shapes your view of church attendance and membership today. Unfortunately, church has been done wrong almost as much as it has been done right through the years. It has been the source of much exclusion and pain. If you have experienced that, know it was not a reflection of God but of flawed, wrong church leaders. Church has also been the seat of hope, joy, and true community, as it should be. No matter what your early experiences or associations with the church have been, we encourage you to take a fresh look at a healthy, Bible-based church in your community. Spiritual health is the foundation of overall health and wellness, and your connection with a body of like-minded believers is an important part of that foundation.
True connection with a strong, local church is critical for your spiritual growth and for your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Studies now confirm what believers have known for a long time: church makes you healthier in every way. In addition to the spiritual growth benefits detailed below, regular church attendance also boosts immunity, decreases blood pressure, increases contentment, and can add as many as three years to your life.1
The church is a family. When you became a Christian—whether that was fifteen minutes ago or fifteen years ago—you became part of God’s universal family. In every corner of the world, God’s universal family meets together in smaller, local gatherings to worship and learn about God and to find community with one another. Being a member of a local church family is part of God’s process for developing you into the new you. It is part of his process for growing you.
Sometimes the idea of becoming a church member can be a little intimidating. But really, the concept of membership is everywhere in our culture. You become a member at the gym or at the local wholesale club. You go to the drugstore, opt into its membership program, and walk out with a little discount card on your keychain. You sign up for a book club or the PTA, and consider yourself an active member alongside other like-minded people. Becoming a member of something is a familiar concept.
Interestingly, this idea of people coming together for membership in a common group was something the apostle Paul wrote about in one of his letters to early Christians. In fact, many believe the term member originated from his writing. Paul reached into the medical world and borrowed the concept that the body is made up of many types of members. Hands, arms, eyes, and feet are all different parts, yet all these parts and more come together to form a singular body. He applied the analogy to the Christian world to show that, as believers, we are all members of one body, one family.
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” . . . All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. (1 Cor. 12:18–21, 27)
Just as your head, hands, eyes, and feet are all needed to make your body function properly, all the parts of God’s family are needed to form his church. In turn, the church helps you to continue growing in spiritual health by providing these main things:
Let’s look at each one in more detail.
A Place to Build Healthy Relationships
You weren’t created to be alone. You need good people in your life. But once you are out of school and into the rhythm of adulthood, finding the kind of healthy relationships you know you need is often difficult. The limits of your social circle become your family members, coworkers, and maybe a few parents from your kids’ sports teams. While these relationships are great, they are generally relationships of convenience. You also need intentional friendships with others who are on the same faith journey you are on—those who are getting to know God more deeply every day, who can come alongside you and be there for you through the ups and downs of life. Consider this truth:
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Eccles. 4:9–12)
In the local church, you can find people who are on a similar path, people you can turn to and confide in when you have doubts and questions, people who will cry with you when things are hard and share your joy in the good times. These types of intentional relationships are essential to your spiritual health (not to mention your physical, emotional, and mental health), as we will discuss much more in the next chapter.
A Place to Use Your Gifts
You were born with unique gifts and talents; you need a place to make sure those gifts and talents are being put to their highest and best use. The local church provides an environment in which you can use your gifts and talents for the benefit of God and others. This is part of God’s plan for you to experience significance. Paul couldn’t have been much more straightforward about this when writing to his friend Timothy: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you” (1 Tim. 4:14 NKJV).
When you use your gifts and talents in accordance with what God is doing around you, incredible things will happen. You will feel alive and connected to a greater purpose. You will feel the power of God in your life as you do what you are good at to serve him. You will be a help and encouragement to the people around you.
Whether you are a musician, a tech person, someone who enjoys working with kids, a leader of people, or someone with a personality perfect for welcoming others, you can play a specific role suited to your gifts in your local church. You may know exactly how you are gifted. If so, getting plugged in should be easy for you. If you are unsure about how to serve, many spiritual gift assessments can help you figure out how you are wired. You can find one at NewYouBook.com. Or ask a leader in your church what type of assessments your church has available. (More on this in chapter 12.)
A Place to Grow
Being part of a church gives you the perfect opportunity to grow. Simply getting together with other believers, singing songs of worship, and hearing the Bible being taught in an applicable way will help you grow spiritually. Plus, when you are involved in a good church, you will learn about the personal disciplines you need to exercise to grow—disciplines such as praying and reading the Bible on your own, worshiping God in everyday moments, and forming deep relationships with other believers outside the church service. (For more on the disciplines of a growing faith, go to NewYouBook.com.)
If you aren’t moving toward God, you are falling away. There is no such thing as spiritual stagnation. Taking steps of growth in a strong, local church will keep you moving in the direction of spiritual health rather than drifting toward a life of less than.
A Place to Belong to Something Bigger than Yourself
Whenever I (Nelson) watch a football game—which isn’t that often, to be honest—I can’t help but get fixated on those guys in the stands. You know the ones. They are usually shirtless with full body paint, face paint, and crazy glasses or hats. They put the original meaning (“fanatic”) back in the term fan. Most of us who root for our favorite sports teams usually do so to a lesser degree, but we really aren’t so different from our friends who take fandom to the next level. We are all acting out of something intrinsic to our nature.
The passion we feel for our favorite sports teams is one small indication that we are wired to belong to something bigger than ourselves. We all have a desire to be part of something that matters. I want to make a difference with my life. You want to make a difference with your life. We all want to be part of something great, something that transforms a city, something that makes people’s lives better. But there is only so much we can do on our own. When we choose to connect with something bigger, like the church, we can have incredible impact.
A friend once told me, “If you want to do something that matters, figure out where God is working and link up with him in that work.” Being an active part of a local church allows you to do exactly that. God is constantly at work in his church. As you see what he is doing, and choose to connect with him in it, you can become part of something much bigger than yourself—something that influences lives for the better in the here and now and for eternity.
God created the church so that you would have a place to engage, to worship, to learn, and to grow. A major part of taking responsibility for your spiritual health is connecting with a church if you aren’t already or connecting more deeply if you are. Dig in. Be open to relationships with others. Put your gifts to use. Commit to a daily time with God during the week so that you go to church prepared to hear from him. Look for how God is working through your church and join him. As you do these things, God will meet you in them. He will grow you. You will be even closer to being the new you that you want to be.