Fellowship with like-minded Christians in the gathering of the local church is crucial to a Christian’s spiritual life. Without being plugged into a biblically faithful local church, we will not survive as Christians—or at the very least, our spiritual bones will be dry.

There are three main reasons why the local church is essential for a Christian’s spiritual health.

Preaching. The church service should revolve around the preaching of the Word. We need to sit under faithful preaching by men of God who proclaim the mysteries of God without flinching or catering to the world. The more we do so, the more we come to know God.

Fellowship. Christians need to be around other Christians. We cannot live the Christian life in isolation. Sin thrives in isolation. May we never lie to ourselves and think we don’t need to fellowship with others. It’s essential.

Discipleship. Not only do we need fellowship, but we need to be discipled. And when we are discipled we are able to disciple others. As much as discipleship among other Christians is important, we need to be discipled most of all by our pastors, the one(s) God has placed over our lives.

Christian, you need the local church. Make it a priority to consistently attend church and not merely be a consumer, but an active participant.