How to Make the Most out of Church on Sunday

Sounds simple, right? You might be thinking you’re already doing all these things.

Here are some super practical tips to to get the most out of your weekend worship experience at your church that you may not have thought of before. 

1. I have to start with this one first: commit to going. Do not let your kids decide. Do not let your emotions decide. Do not wait until Sunday morning to see how you feel (your emotions will always tell you that sleep is better). Do not plan on going UNLESS something else comes along. Commit. Do not make excuses. Ask off work. Do not make plans during that time. Make it a priority. Finish your school work, studying, house cleaning, and work at another time. Have a standing appointment on Sunday mornings (or Sunday nights or Saturday nights - whenever your church meets). I have seen an individual miss one Sunday then miss another. Then they miss months and months turn into years. And just because your spouse has a cold doesn’t mean you should just stay home too. You are missing an incredible opportunity to learn and grow. Take your kids who aren’t sick along. 
2. If you attend church on a Sunday morning, get to bed early Saturday night. Troy and I are super careful about what plans we make on Saturday nights. If we plan events, meetings, or dinners, we try to make them for Friday nights or early Saturday evenings. Now, Troy has to get up earlier than most people on Sunday mornings (between 3 & 4am) but regardless, we still make it a point to get to bed early. 
3. Get to church early. If church starts at 11am, you cannot have your alarm set for 10:45am, hit snooze once or twice then speed to church and expect to get the most out of your worship experience. You will be stressed out for trying to make the yellow light, yell at your kids while shoving a granola bar down your mouth (What?! I’ve definitely never done that.). So many churches have fellowship areas that provide coffee, water and maybe even snacks and breakfast items. When you get there early, you can take advantage of that time.
4. If you have kids, check them into your kids ministry. This is so important for a million reasons. This is not just childcare, this is a ministry to them! They are learning at their level. What a gift! It’s so important for them to learn about the Lord and the Bible. In their classrooms, they learn and grow with other kids. This is not just a way for them to grow but for you to grow as their parent. You are letting other women and men of God speak into your kids lives, teaching them, praying for them, encouraging them and reinforcing what you are teaching them at home. There have been maybe three times (maybe) where I have brought my kids into a service and it is beyond stressful to say the very least. I could not pay attention because I was too worried about my child making noise or distracting others. What a blessing and a gift a kids ministry is to a church!
5. Come prepared. Bring your Bible - not just the one on your phone. Bring the one that you use on a daily basis (or weekly or yearly) where you write notes in the margin. And bring a notebook. Take lots of notes. Write down names of worship songs you sang so you can download them later in the week. Write down upcoming events and news from the church announcements. Write down points and verses from the message. Make notes to re-read verses later that week. Write down what you feel like God is telling you through the message and worship. 
6. Leave your phone at home. Or turn it off or leave it in your car. I know, I know, you want to “take notes” on your phone and “look up verses” on Bible app. I can’t tell you how many times I see people texting, Facebooking, Instagraming during church services. What’s worse is when they show their neighbor what they are looking at on Instagram. It can wait. What’s worse than that is when a mom or dad is showing their son or daughter something from social media. My heart literally hurts when I see that. If you are not engaged in the message or worship, that’s completely fine; but, please, don’t distract your neighbor from what God is trying to show them. That is showing them that it’s not important to you. 
7. Greet others. Did you know that you may be the first impression someone gets when they walk into church? Every Sunday there are people who have never been to a church or have haven’t been in years and are filled with anxieties. Look for new people and show them around. Ask them to sit with you. 
8. Do not leave immediately after the service. And definitely don’t leave before service is over. At the end of the service, many churches have a time for fresh starts - where people choose to give their lives to Christ for the first time or maybe they are making a decision to recommit an area of their life to the Lord. If you are leaving to get on the wait list at IHOP, please do not leave in the middle of prayer or during a song at the end. Your impatience could be interrupting someone’s very important, life changing situation. Plus, if you leave immediately you can’t talk to to your friends or new people. 
9. Do the homework from the pastor. Did your pastor tell you to read a book or chapter of the Bible? Did he ask you to pray for someone or a situation? Do it! You will be so much better prepared going into your Sunday worship experiences.

A few more notes. Get involved and serve! If you need to be a member first, ask how to become a member and serve. Tithe regularly. Give above your tithe. Pray for the leadership in your church. Pray for the church’s safety. If you’re out of town, don’t forget to tithe that week to your church. Sit up front!

I could go on and on and I am sure you have some awesome suggestions too. These tips are not completely black and white. I get that you may be on call with your job and need to have your phone out or your toddler needs to sit with you once because you have to leave early because you have family flying into town. And some churches have apps where you follow along the service with your phone. I get it, I have broken all these tips before. Most of these are suggestions but I know you can’t follow them all the time. 

I’ve spoken to so many people around the country who say they are leaving their church because they “aren’t getting anything out of it.” I think that can be true in rare cases but how much are you putting into it? 

I know, I may be stepping on some toes, especially introvert toes who hate when I mention talking to other people. I know, I get it. I am an introvert. Going to church stretches me to my absolute introvert limits. Most of the time, I leave completely mentally exhausted. 

But can I say that it is 100% worth it. It will always be worth it. Jesus is worth it. The kingdom is worth it. Your family is worth it. You are worth it. 

Ephesians 5:25 (NLV) 

“Husbands, love your wives. You must love them as Christ loved the church. He gave His life for it.”

Wow! Jesus gave his life for the church. The Word says that husbands need to love their wives like Christ gave himself up for the church. What an incredible command.

I am super passionate about the local church, not because I am a pastor’s wife but because I am a Christian. I am SUPER blessed that my parents valued church and always made it a priority. When my parents were engaged, they found a church to go to together. That was in 1984. It's 2018 now and they continue to serve, give and worship at that same church faithfully. My parents scheduled work and vacations so that we wouldn’t miss it. 

One thing that absolutely kills me on the inside are church hoppers with kids. They leave a church every few years for whatever reason. Their kids get connected then their parents leave abruptly and now the kids have to start over again. Now, there are absolutely many reasons to leave a church so I am not saying you should never leave. I’m just saying it’s so important to find a church, get connected and plant roots.

I was born at 5:55am on a Sunday morning. My dad went to church a few hours later. True story. Now, I am not saying that’s the right thing to do but it illustrates the point how dedicated my parents are. 

Pastor Bill Hybels says, “the local church is the hope of the world.” And I tend to agree.