Why do we go to church? If you are like me, you’ve asked this question before. If, so how did you answer? Here are some of the ways I’ve heard the questestion addressed over the years:

• “The Bible tells us to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”

• “This is just what our family does.”

• “To thank God for his blessings upon our family this week and find encouragement for the week ahead.”

Maybe you’ve used some of these answers, too. Or maybe, you’ve simply told your kids, “Because I said so.” For many pastors out there, the tempting answer is, “I work there, so we have to go.” 

In our home, we’ve written down a list of family values, and we talk about how those values shape what we do and the decisions we make. One of our values is “Gather with God’s People.” That value didn’t show up on our list simply because I’m in ministry. It came from my own experience growing up in a home where my mom and dad made church a priority. We didn’t have church written down as a value growing up, but knew that we would be in church on Sundays. But the truth is that even growing up as part of a family where church was valued isn’t the most important motivation for going to church. 

Kristie Anyabwile shares a story about her husband, Thabiti, that points us to the most important motivation for church attendance. One Sunday, Thabiti was not scheduled to preach at his church, but he was scheduled to pray during the service. However, he was sick with a cold and cough, and he was having a hard time talking. When he was on stage, Kristie’s son leaned over to her and asked, “Mom, why is dad in church? Shouldn’t he be at home resting instead?”

Kristie answered, “You'll have to ask your dad.”

So when Thabiti came back to sit down, the boy asked him, “Dad, why are you in church? You’re sick. You’re not feeling well.”

And Kristie said that without missing a beat, Thabiti answered, “Because he’s worth it.”

The point of this story isn’t that we must be in church even if we’re sick. In this time of global pandemic, being in church when you’re sick may even be an unloving thing. 

Nevertheless, I want you to think about the answer Pastor Thabiti gave his son that day: “Because he’s worth it.” That answer displays this pastor’s love for God, his love for his church, and it models for us what it looks like to intentionally point a child to Christ. Thabiti could have given his son a number of good and biblical answers, and yet he chose to point to the primary motivation: his love for Jesus. His response was an expression of his love and joy in the Savior.

Deuteronomy 6:5 commands us, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This is the first and greatest commandment for every generation. A few paragraphs later in verse 20, Moses tells us that the young Israelite children will ask their parents the reasons for all the “stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded.” The Israelite parents had an answer, that when they were slaves in Egypt, God saved them by his mighty hand through signs and wonders, to bring them to the promised land, and then give them these laws for their good (Deut. 6:21–25). They didn’t say “because God said so.” Instead, they gave their kids reasons for following God. Their present obedience was rooted in God’s past deliverance. Parents, we also need to give our kids reasons for our obedience. We need to give them gospel grounds for gathering with the gospel people. So, the next time your child asks you, “Why do we go to church,” what will you say?

Our story, like that of the Israelites, includes being saved from sin into a new life through Jesus Christ. He is the one who “loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25–27). The reason gathering with the church is important is because Jesus came to create a gospel people. When we respond to Christ with repentance and belief, we are welcomed into the “people for his own possession” (Titus 2:14). Collectively, we believers are revealed as the bride of Christ. 

So why is Jesus worth it? Because without Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to forgive us and cleanse us from our sin, we would stand before God as guilty, stained, wrinkled, flawed, and unholy. But now in Christ, we gather with other gospel people and acknowledge both what we once were and what we are now as God’s children, pure, blameless, and clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Parents, why do we intentionally pursue the hearts of our children? Because he’s worth it.

Why do we do the hard work of disciplining our children? Because he’s worth it.

Why do we prioritize family worship in the home? Because he’s worth it.

Why do we make it a priority to take our families to church? Because he’s worth it.

Will there be late nights that make it easier to skip church and sleep in on Sunday? Yes. Will there be life situations that come up that will tempt you to want to avoid the church community—tempting you to want to avoid everyone’s intrusive questions about how you are doing? Of course. Are there going to be days when you just “aren't feeling it”? Absolutely. So, what will keep us going back in those times? What will make gathering with the church community a priority for your family? It must be remembering that we are loved by Christ and then loving him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It must be that we’re gathering with Christ’s people to praise him for who he is and what he has done for us. It must be that we’re seeking Christ’s glory with whole-hearted love, because we’re compelled by his love for us.

And here’s another thought. Instead of waiting for your child to ask the question, maybe it’s time for you to initiate this conversation. Ask your child why they think your family goes to church. Then, share from your own heart about your love for Jesus Christ and his love for us. Share with your child why you give Jesus both your church attendance and all of your obedience in life.

Tell your child that Jesus is the reason you go to church, because he’s worth it.