Ugh-Do I Have To Go to Church?!?

I didn't really go to church until I was in my late 20's. All I knew of church from my experience was that it was boring, the people weren't very friendly and I didn't learn a thing. That was my experience. 

A good friend of mine from the fitness club (huge bodybuilder) invited me and my fiancé' at the time, Vicki, to his church. (Looking back, he may have bullied me into going!) He was persistent. He also knew we would like it. We did. But it wasn't what we had church perceived as or what we remembered from our experiences. The music was more upbeat with people standing and even clapping at times. The words were clearly in admiration of this Jesus Christ person, who I was only recently introduced to at the time. The Pastor or speaker spoke in a language I understood and pointed us all to read it for ourselves in this Bible. He was easy to understand, very relevant to what was going on in the world and really inspired my wife and I to return the following week to learn more. It was almost the complete opposite of any church experience I've ever had previously. Maybe that's why it initially felt so strange. 

What is church suppose to be? We all have these preconceived notions based on upbringing and previous experiences. Some of us have been completely let down by the church which, incidentally, will happen when humans are involved. Although Jesus will never let you down.

Nobody leaves the faith based on Jesus, it's always a human's following of Jesus that rubs people the wrong way. 

We all come to church with the baggage of all the experiences we've had. Sometimes this closes our mind and heart to the possibilities of what God has planned for you. If we continue to put all of our stock in people instead of putting our faith in God, we don't stand a chance. 

Our biggest purpose here at Fellowship Church is to introduce people to the hope of Jesus Christ. We know His power by the hundreds of lives He has changed in this building. We have story after story of how God transformed people here. Addiction conquered. Relationships restored. Anxiety and depression gone. New relationships built. 

What are you looking for when you come to church? Is it just to check off your to-do list or is it a possibility of a life changed forever?