If you believe in God how often to go to church

[TheFancyPoet]

Since having some shift work patterns which included Sundays, I have been off from Sunday morning church and seem cannot regain my motivation

[duvet]

Not very often, find some aspects of it difficult although I believe in God I dont believe in the whole your all going to hell aspect.

[heyhohello]

My church does their services online. Including Communion. It's pretty flexible.

[Concestor]

I used to go every week for over 20 years, now I don't attend a church at all after being badly hurt by the leadership.

I'm not sure I could attend one again to be honest, I would need to find a feminist one as it won't go to one run by the patriarchy again.

[TheFancyPoet]

I have also being hurt , Zurala in some of the previous churches have been

[MumChp]

We go every Sunday unless something important is up. Next week the youngst has a big dance performance to attend so we skip church.
One of our daughters sings in the choir. She is too young to travel herself. We have friends in church and we like our vicar - it's a church family.

[ThursdayTomorrow]

Once or twice a month I physically go to a service. Sometimes the morning service. Sometimes the evening service.
I also do some online services.

[KindredGift]

I try to go to Evensong when I can. I find most church services a complete turn off though and always come out with less faith than I went in with.

[TheFancyPoet]

I do love sung services yay :)

[Isthatascratchonmygrandmother]

Whenever I find the time or if there's a special service. I feel much closer to God in my own spaces or out in nature.

[cheapskatemum]

I go most weeks. I also do shift work, but my 4 week rotation only involves 1 Sunday morning shift.

[Moier]

Once a month .. Monday evening.. Spiritualist Church.

[VanillaFrosted]

I believe in God, but why would I go to church?

Surely you mean “if you are Christian”?

[scrivette]

I go about twice a month as well as being on the PCC and am a PSO, but I don't believe you have to go to Church regularly to believe in God. There was a time in my life when I was only able to go a few times a year.

[TheFancyPoet]

VanillaFrosted · Today 19:21

I believe in God, but why would I go to church?

Surely you mean “if you are Christian”?

Yes, we are Christians who go to temples which are called churches. Just being interested because feels like a duty sometimes rather than a sign of us believing in God and showing Him honour through public church going

[VanillaFrosted]

I don’t have a place of worship to go to. Which if I look at it another way means everywhere is a place of worship.

Maybe it would help to ask yourself who you go to Church for - yourself (it feels good, you want this as part of your reputation in society), other people (obligation and being made to feel bad if you don’t attend) or God?

[Donthideyourlight]

Not enough! I do live stream Sunday services sometimes and I read the bible every day and watch a lot of Christian content online. My church is CofE and I don't fully align with everything they say, but I do know I should be going. I could make it to 8am service and / or evening service when they have it, so I really should make the effort.

[PipsHip]

I'm a Christian, as in I love God greatly and try to follow him in all aspects of my life. I go to church every Sunday morning, and I love it. But I did try a few churches before choosing one which suits me.
The main reason I go to church is community. It helps my faith and encourages me when I am with other believers and if there are difficult times they help out, and they celebrate with us in good times too.
The other important part of church for me is communal worship. Singing on your own is just not the same!
I am quite happy praying on my own and reading the bible on my own. Although I have gone to small house groups in the past and that's very helpful too. So for me traditional church is less about preaching/praying and more about community and worship.

Will your new shift patterns go on for a long time or are they temporary? If temporary, I'd just schedule a new weekly time where you watch a service online and pray yourself privately, until you can go to services again. If it's long term I think in your shoes I'd try to find a service at a different time which you can attend regularly, or how about a midweek house group? Some people can maybe manage to hold onto a genuine deep faith without regularly gathering with other Christians, but I think these people are rare. Most of us need the support of other believers.

[NannyR]

I go to church every Sunday, I try to make it a priority over everything else I do on a weekend, but I realise that it's not that easy if you have family commitments or work. Are there any churches locally that hold services at different times? There is one in our city centre that holds their regular Sunday service at 4pm, and catholic churches tend to have Saturday night services.
You can be a "lone" Christian and pray and study the bible, but at some point you do need to be in fellowship with other Christians, whether that's a church service, house group or bible study group - it's like taking a coal out of a fire, it can only burn for so long if you take it away from the other coals.

[Donthideyourlight]

I've just arrived early for evening service at my local church. So thank you for the thread as it has given me the proverbial kick I needed to actually get here!

[TheFancyPoet]

Yes, I can do catholic Saturday evenings, Sunday evenings and some on zoom with local people I know .....need the kick also

[SilverViking]

I would attend mass every weekend.. usually Sunday.. useless there was something very unusual or we were somewhere that Mass was not being said (even then I would try to participate via livestream). I really try to prioritise it and set that time aside for prayer and worship. I think asking ... what is more important than time praying and talking in the presence God. This helps focus me on being there on time to get rid of distractons, into prayer and participate fully.

Morning, night and daily prayer also very important ... but something I need to keep working on, as I'm not as disciplined in setting that time aside every day 😞

[NotTooOldPaul]

I used to work shifts and work two Sundays out of three. I went to church as often as I could and did not feel bad if I had to miss a Sunday. There were mid week bible studies I could also attend.
I'm now retired so go most weeks, not to the same church as I tend to be leading worship and preaching three Sundays each month, on my "free" Sunday I do try to go to my home church.

[Thegreatestoftheseislove]

@PipsHip

I'm a Christian, as in I love God greatly and try to follow him in all aspects of my life. I go to church every Sunday morning, and I love it. But I did try a few churches before choosing one which suits me.
The main reason I go to church is community. It helps my faith and encourages me when I am with other believers and if there are difficult times they help out, and they celebrate with us in good times too.
The other important part of church for me is communal worship. Singing on your own is just not the same!
I am quite happy praying on my own and reading the bible on my own. Although I have gone to small house groups in the past and that's very helpful too. So for me traditional church is less about preaching/praying and more about community and worship.

Will your new shift patterns go on for a long time or are they temporary? If temporary, I'd just schedule a new weekly time where you watch a service online and pray yourself privately, until you can go to services again. If it's long term I think in your shoes I'd try to find a service at a different time which you can attend regularly, or how about a midweek house group? Some people can maybe manage to hold onto a genuine deep faith without regularly gathering with other Christians, but I think these people are rare. Most of us need the support of other believers.

I agree with @PipsHip about traditional church being more about community and worship. Also I agree that most of us need the support of other believers. I think it is important (and to me, very powerful) to gather together around the Lord's Table - in whatever form that takes: to corporately confess our sins and share in the body and blood.

For various reasons, at this time in my life, to attend church in person is not without difficulty and so I am one of those folk who hold onto a genuine deep faith, despite not attending church in the usual way. I am able to gather with the wider 'Christian Family-of-God' online, though a WhatsApp prayer group, and in other ways. I also use the following Apps - Lectio365 and Daily Audio Bible.

[Pocketfullofdogtreats]

The little church I was happy with folded during COVID and I now go to the CofE up the road to their sung worship services, so twice a month. I avoid the guitar-weilding kid-friendly dumbed down services but do have residual guilt about doing something else on a Sunday morning. I go to the Bible study afternoons and over the months have got to know a few people well. They are lovely, and I enjoy that aspect of fellowship. Go when it suits you, and work on your relationship with God (read the Bible, pray for enlightenment) and with other Christians outside of going to church. That's my two pence!

[TheFancyPoet]

I really love your replies