Why You Should Go to Church (even if you're not religious)

One of the interesting effects of the covid-19 pandemic has been the increase in religious behaviour. Research by Tearfund and Savanta ConRes suggests 44% of UK adults now say they pray regularly, and 24% have "attended" an online church service since the start of lockdown. Churches were quick to respond to the pandemic, moving services online via YouTube, Facebook Live and Zoom, and this has made it easier for the "church-curious" to get involved. After all, it's much less daunting to watch a YouTube livestream on your phone in your own living room than it is to walk through heavy double doors into an imposing building full of over-friendly strangers.

I'm ahead of the curve because I've been attending church services on a regular basis for around the last 30 years. But you know, church is for life, not just for a crisis, and I fully endorse and recommend the church-going lifestyle, whatever your beliefs. Here's what it has done for me:

• It's given me a guaranteed loving and supportive community. In 2004 I moved from Wales back to England. Two weeks after moving in I threw a housewarming party and invited all the neighbours. One of them told me years later that she came to my party out of sympathy, since she  feared I'd be sitting sadly alone wearing my party hat eating Doritos. To her surprise about fifty people were spilling out into the garden, washing up in the kitchen, playing with my children, and chatting and laughing. How had I made so many friends so quickly? Simple - I'd invited the church. I knew when I moved that I would be welcomed by a new congregation who were ready and eager to get to know me, love me, support me, and help me adjust to living in a new place. Wherever I go in the world I know I will find the same.

• It's taught me life skills I might not have come by any other way. In my church there's no paid ministry; people are "called" to positions and given responsibilities and support where necessary to carry them out. Among many other things I've learned organisational skills (I took 40 teenagers on a weekend coach trip), diplomacy (from when I was public affairs rep) and public speaking. Because there's no paid ministry in my church we can all be called on to preach a sermon on a Sunday, and I do so about three times a year. I'm no longer nervous speaking in front of a large audience, having addressed 200 people in a supportive and loving environment on multiple occasions.
  
  
• As well as all these incidental skills I've picked up through being given assignments, I have had actual lessons via the church, all for free. I've undergone a course on safeguarding, I'm currently learning British Sign Language (yesterday we learned to sign a hymn) and I've also had lessons on teaching skills and researching my family history. I've found the church's easy piano course (developed to ensure no congregation is ever without a pianist) far better than any commercial ones I've tried.

• If you're someone who likes to help others there's no better place to find structure to do that than  church. Many churches are involved with provision for the homeless, for young families, and hundreds of other practical charitable causes, because churches are where you find a large group of people who actively want to reach out to others in their community. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a church that didn't have at least one community charitable activity you could volunteer for. In the past our congregation has been involved in cleaning up parks and outdoor spaces, and currently we're working with a food bank.

• The church has given me opportunities I might not otherwise have had. My life's ambition was to be a published author (self-published doesn't count). I achieved that ambition through my church, but it's a long story so you can read how by clicking this link. In our church many young people choose to become missionaries at around 19 or 20, serving for eighteen months to two years, often overseas. As with everything, you are "called" to serve in a specific location rather than getting to choose. My husband was called to serve a mission in Russia in his early 20s and as a result is fluent in Russian which has been very beneficial in his career. I often think of a young man in our congregation who was called to Guam. He'd never heard of it, but when he returned after two years it sounded as though he'd had the adventure of a lifetime. How else would he ever have gone to Guam and had those amazing experiences?
  
  
• Mindfulness, yoga, meditation - all forms of quiet introspection have been shown to be helpful in this time of crisis. But even before the pandemic hit and the calm assurance prayer gave me became the bedrock of my day, the self-care and self-evaluation I was taught from years of Relief Society (women's group) lessons has been so very beneficial that I wonder how others manage who don't spend an hour every Sunday (or every other Sunday now) with loving sisters learning how to be better people. I've learned how to forgive others and myself, I've learned to make peace with my past, I've learned better understanding and patience in times of difficulty, I've learned the different meanings of love and how to show it, and I've learned how to value myself with all my weaknesses and strengths. (If you're a man reading this, don't worry - I understand the men's group has similar lessons.)
  
  
• One of the (several) quirks of my church is that's it's big on preparedness. For a long time our leaders have been encouraging us to have monetary savings and to store food, medicine and clothing against times of need. It also issues guidance on how to do that. (Another thing I've learned through church is exactly what the true shelf-life is of many food items.) I've not been particularly good at following that advice (see my use of the word "quirk", above) but in this current crisis it did mean that when lockdown hit and people started panic-buying, I was at least confident that we had enough food for a couple of months, and while everyone else was lamenting the lack of flour on the supermarket shelves I was looking at the two huge jars of wheat in my cupboard and getting out my grinder. (Wheat keeps indefinitely; flour doesn't.)
  
  Admittedly this is something great I got out of my church attendance that is really a bit specific, but maybe the point here is that attending church helps you to look at things in ways you otherwise might not, or do things you otherwise might not consider which can be beneficial in unexpected ways.
  
  
• I mentioned our church's missionary programme earlier. Missionaries are also called here, so I've had the chance to get to know people from all over the world, learn of their culture, and eat their traditional food. In just the past few years we've had missionaries from Saudi Arabia, China, Brazil, Germany, Romania, Japan, Portugal, America and New Zealand. It's really helped broaden my understanding of other areas and cultures, and asking them their stories is fascinating. One I remember in particular was a Dutch missionary who had once been a drug dealer and smuggler. He was caught by the authorities and in desperation he prayed that if God would help him he would give up his bad ways, turn his life around and dedicate his life to serving God. He was let off due to a procedural technicality, and was true to his promise.
  
  
  
  
  
  Even if the church you chose to attend isn't one which operates a programme like this, it's very likely that you will find yourself mixing at church with people from all sorts of different backgrounds, different perspectives, and with a wealth of life experiences they are happy to share. In our neighbourhoods, schools and jobs we tend to mix mostly with people who are like us. Belonging to a church community is a great way to broaden your horizons.
  
  
• These are all reasons for attending church even if you're not religious, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that church attendance has given me strength, joy, hope, and comfort. It's my weekly reset and restore button. I have grown and developed my faith through being part of a church (among other things) and that faith means that I can be comforted with the knowledge that I am loved, that I can be with my husband for eternity, and that I will see my beloved Dad (who died in 2016) again.
  
  
• I also met my husband at church, the two hours of free childcare each Sunday when the kids were small was wonderful, and I get free membership of Ancestry.com because my church owns it.

Am I really suggesting that you should go to church even if you're an affirmed atheist? Not entirely, I'm just saying that church is so much more than somewhere religious people go to make themselves feel better about believing in weird stuff. No one is born with faith; most of us spend our lives on a journey of acquiring and developing it, and for many people it is becoming part of that body of people first which help them explore and investigate faith. So whether you're of a religious persuasion or not, why not check out a church livestream or Zoom today, and see how it can enrich your life.