Do you have to go to church to be a Christian (or be Saved)?

The Bible also says, and I believe, we go to church to fellowship. We are one body in Christ and if we don't come together we are pretty much "dismembered" However, a lot of people think that going to church will save them and sadly that is very far from the truth. We need to meet with Jesus in His house but also meet with Him daily in our lives. If you are there just to warm a bench/pew/seat whatever, may as well stay home. (sorry I've been told I am bold) still working on it :)

I f a person is a Christian, why would they not want to go to church. Many Christians have this misconception that if I do certain things, like reading Bible, praying, etc, then they are OK. Being a Christian is never about myself, it is about God. If I stay at home and do the Christian thing, what do I do for God. Going to church gives us the opportunity to praise and exhalt Him in fellowship with other believers. Then, like you said, we get trained by the Word and be comforted by fellow believers. One does not go to church to go to heaven, you go to church because you love God, and His people. Another reason I know of why people don't go to church is because there are so many 'hypocrites'. These so called hypocrites are just like any other person. We are all sinners depending on God's grace for salvation. If I stay away from church because of people, why do I go to work then, there is also people who do wrong things. There are some people who are unable to attend church services due to health or financial problems. God will visit them and comfort them, even using us to be the comfort for those people. As a christian, I think we should go to church and show our love for god and people. I don't say you will go to hell if you don't go to church, but if you are serious about being a child of God, then we will want to go and learn more about Him. It's all about God. Blessings

Do you think you have to go to church to be a Christian? Absolutely NOT! going to ANY place of worship or temple etc etc doesnt make one that religion by any means...its something that comes from ones soul, not a building....

i think everyone should commit to going to church.i love church and i dont go.why you may ask? i can make a thousand excuses but i wont.mainly its something i want to share with my husband and he doesnt want to go so i dont make him.but i feel church is for learning,worship and praising the lord.its for asking for forgiveness on a weekly basis.It is to fellowship and give testimony of your faith.It also to give thanks for the blessing someone has received and continue to receive.I do believe you can be a christian without attending church.thanks for letting me share.

sitting in a Church(building) will no more make you a christian than sitting in a garage will make you a car!it must be a personal relationship with Christ!

you dont have to go to church to be CHristian you dont have to go be around other Christians to hear the "word" of God you want to hear the word? go meditate and pray if you open your heart and your mind you will hear the word of God delivered by God directly to you

No I don't think you have to go to church to be Christian but I can understand why to go to church. You said it so well, to gain strength and to seek encouragement.But there are others who don't need this and they study or practice without going to church.

If you have to go to church to be Christian, then there are a lot of home bound people who are in for a surprise.

I think in my opinion, we just go to the church to pray and to listen the word of God. But it doesn't mean that if we don't go to the church we are not Christian. Yes, we are Christian because we are Baptized. It does not mean that if we don't attend the Sundays mass is we are not Christian. As a matter of fact even we don't got to the church there are some possible ways to be with God like praying everyday, before and after every meal, reading bible or attending a Bible Service. Even if we don't go to church there are possible ways to be in the mass even if you are in your house because some Mass are televised. And to the another issue which we cannot be save if we don't attend mass is not true. The only way we can be saved is that if we do good deeds to others. If we give other people happiness. I'm sure that God will forgive as even if we have no time to attend Sunday's mass.

one does not have to go to church to be saved or to be a christian but it will be ideal to go to church to learn more about God's word and fellowship with fellow christians, going to church has become a sort of tradition to those who just want to show off and make people see they are christians, but this is not the reason for you not to attend church servies

u know if i have a time tfor me im not a religious woman i f u want go to the church and pray go to dontt forget to remember to pray ur family and urselfthen if u have problem u can pray if dont like to go the church u can pray in ur house u can do that.

Lol! Going to church and listening to God's Word is only two of the many duties of a Christian. What makes a person a Christian is how he/she follow the footsteps of Christ who gave everything for us and never expected anything of the given to return. How to become a Christian? I do not know much since the things written in the bible are accounts of some the goodness Christ has showered upon the world. It is said somewhere in the book of John that Christ has done many deeds and that the disciples were not able to put them all into account. How can a person be saved? Just follow God's Words and Christ's teachings. Embrace his free gift of eternal life and let Jesus enter your heart. It seems easy but it is very difficult to do.

No.....

Listen, going to church doesn't make you a christian but christians go to church in the same way bowlers go to the bowling alley. If you love Jesus, quite naturally you'll go to the place that people worship and teach about him.

I have not attend masses lately in a church due to my work. but that doesn't mean am not a committed christian. that's really weird some times, because to those who attend church every Sunday or other day mostly are the ones who are not entire doing their part as Christians while the ones who don't go to church or not even a christian are even more good and doing the Christian way. church is the house of the lord, we go there to simply remind us about GOd and hear his teachings. not bad, and it's ok.

I don't think you have to go to church to be Christian. My mom is a minister so I had a "behind the scenes" view for most of my life. Yeah, people do come to hear the word of God and to worship and praise God. But more than that, most people come to congregate with people like themselves. I hope the God I believe in would rather me feed someone who is hungry Sunday morning. I think that is more in line with living out Christian values than weekly church attendance. It's sad to say but if you think about the kind of person Jesus was, and the kind of people he hung out with, he wouldn't even be welcomed through the front doors of most churches.

In my opinion, going to church hurts your chances of "being saved". All organized religions are nothing more than accepted cults. I, personally, believe that there is a god, and that people coming together to celebrate their chosen book of lies offends him. All organized religions are evil business machines. The original pyramid marketing scams. Hey, if only the poor can enter into the kingdom of heaven, the Pope is going to burn in the ninth circle of hell. He leads the single wealthiest private organization in the history of the world. That should get the hate mail rollin in.

There may be several answers to this question, but I believe we go to church for the fellowship. Going to church is about fellowship, building relationships and being accountable to other Christians. Being a Christian can be hard sometimes and it may be more appealing to give up. Being a Christian is not about going to church and vice versa. Being a Christian is about following the ways of Jesus and having a relationship with him. This can and has to happen outside of church. Christians are not only Christians when they enter the church. Church is to help others find Christ and for us to "keep the faith"

I don't think you have to go to church to be a Christian, but I know for me that I can't stay strong in this materialistic world or stay in the joy of my salvation without going to church to praise the Lord in the congregation of other believers. So I don't feel you have to go to church to be a Christian but it helps to continue to be one! Even Jesus didn't go to church but to synagog because remember he was Jewish! Which brings up my question, if Jesus followed the laws of Judaism why don't we follow those laws as Christians because Jesus said, "you have to be as good as the pharisees to go to heaven"?

In order to become save you have to hear the word being preach. Once you have accepted Christ in your heart you will become a Chrisitian. Going to church is to fellowship with others who are lost. In fellowshipping you're telling them or sharing with them the love of Christ. I don't think that it always has to be done at a church, but you can also you to shelters, hospitals etc. and tell everyone about Christ. Once again it's the matters of the heart.