If you told a non-Christian that attending church was good for him, do you think he would do it? Research recently conducted shows that regularly attending church is good for mental and physical health in both adults and children.
The past few weeks I’ve shown you what the Bible says about the importance of gathering together with other Christian believers for worship. I’ve shared lots of quotes from Bible teachers which supports that Bible teaching. Now let me share one more piece of evidence.
Research was recently conducted about the health risks of “regular church attenders” compared with “never-attenders.” Tyler Vanderweele and Brendan Case both work at The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard’s Institute for Qualitative Research. These men have found through their research that there’s a vast difference in both physical and mental health when comparing people who regularly attend a church with people who never attend church.
The research shows similar results for both adults and children. According to the research, if you are an adult who regularly attends church, then you have an 80 percent reduced risk of suicide, 29 percent reduced risk of depression, and 50 percent reduced risk of divorce. Regularly attending church also results in a 68 percent reduced risk of “deaths of despair” for women and 33 percent reduced risk of “deaths of despair” for men. If an adolescent regularly attends church there is a 33 percent reduced risk of adolescent illegal drug use and a 12 percent reduced risk of adolescent depression.[1]
I know that’s a lot to take in. Feel free to read it again. Here’s the conclusion we should make about those statistics: attending church is good for both adults and children. To say it another way, attending church positively affects the physical and mental health of both adults and children.[2]
Reading statistics about the benefits of regularly attending church should not surprise us. Hebrews 10:23–25 teaches us about the local church assembly, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb 10:23–25, NASB).[3]
According to these often known yet frequently ignored verses, the proper response to Christ for a Christian is to hold fast to the confession of faith, stimulate one another to love and good deeds, and encourage one another as we wait for the Lord’s return. The author of Hebrews teaches us that while you don’t have to attend church to be a Christian, one of the signs that you are a Christian is that you attend church.[4]
Pastor Mark Hitchcock says, “One of the marks of discipleship—of being a follower of Christ—is that you cherish the church. When Sunday rolls around you ought to be excited to come to church and to be here with God’s people. You ought to look forward to it.”[5] While you don’t have to attend church to be a Christian, one of the signs that you are a Christian is that you attend church.
Hebrews 10:23–25, alongside the testimony of good Bible teachers and research, shows that it’s good to be involved in a local church. We as Christians attend church regularly because it’s what God says in his word that we must do, but it’s also good to be involved in a local church because it’s good for us. Maybe that’s why he says to do it.
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Christopher L. Scott is a pastor and author of the book, Walking Straight When Life Goes Sideways: Essential Christian Truths for Enduring Life’s Trials (Wipf and Stock). He provides hundreds of free articles, videos, and Bible study resources at his website ChristopherLynnScott.com.
[1] Tyler J. Vanderwheele and Brenden Case, “The Public Health Crisis No One Is Talking About: Americans are rapidly giving up on the church. Our minds and bodies are paying the price” (Christianity Today, November 2021, pp. 37-42)
[2] Church attendance is not a guarantee of health, wealth, and happiness. That research suggests a reduction of bad experiences, but it does not completely remove them from life. This research does not show that there is a positive connection between church attendance and a reduction in mental and physical health problems. I realize that correlation does not show causation. There might be a third variable at play that causes reduced risks of those who attend church. With that said, I want to support people, and according to that research, the church helps people.
[3] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[4] As we’ve examined Hebrews 10:23–25 we’ve learned that there was a failure to gather that was occurring among the Christians in Rome (Heb 10:25a). The author of Hebrews teaches us that there are three aspects of fidelity to the gathering of Christians for worship (Heb 10:23–24, 25b). The first fidelity to the gathering relates to our doctrine, specifically, holding fast to our confession of faith. The second fidelity to the gathering relates to our deeds, specifically, how we stimulate others to loving actions. The third fidelity to the gathering relates to our duty, specifically, the need for us to encourage one other.The author of Hebrews tells us that we worship on the Lord’s day to prepare for the day of the Lord when Christ returns.
Hebrews 10:23 shows us that the confession of hope is based on Christ (not us), the hope consists of doctrine (not feelings), and the hope directs believers (not unbelievers). Hebrews 10:24 tells us that stimulating others to loving actions should be community focused and should be continually directed. Hebrews 10:25b teaches us that encouragement is something we all are called to do, we all can do, and we all need to do.
[5] “Assembly Required” (Hebrews 10:23-25), Faith Bible Church, Edmond, OK on April 11, 2021. https://faithbibleok.subspla.sh/8mk725z Accessed January 18, 2024.