Devotion #1: Come Together

I absolutely love Church at the Fair! It is one of my favorite events at The River Church. The church coming together, all nine locations, united in worship, is a picture that will never get old for me. It is such a beautiful thing to see so many people come together in the name of Jesus! Our regular Sunday gatherings are a picture of this as well. It does not matter if it is 3,000, 300, or 30 people; it is always great to see unity within the church.  

In the book of Acts, we find a powerful example of the early church gathering together in unity. Acts 1:12-14 tells us, “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” They were steadfast in their commitment to prayer and supporting one another in their devotion to God. They were gathered together in “one accord” as a community of faith. 

However, some people think that gathering together is not a necessity. They say things like, “I can be a Christian and not attend church regularly. I do not need to go to church to have a relationship with God.” This way of thinking has grown stronger with the boom of online services since the COVID pandemic. A poll of 15,000 people, done in March of 2024, shows that the percentage of U.S. Christian adults who attend church weekly is 30%, while those who say they seldom attend church is 27%! Those numbers are very close and very alarming. Likewise, the website “churchtrac.com” posted an article that shows that 16% of Christians have not returned to in-person services since the pandemic. 

While these are alarming statistics, they also mean that we have work to do. We have to do our very best to live in a way that reflects Jesus to a world that is rapidly growing away from Him. Hebrews 10:23-25 tells us, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This passage directs us to hold onto our hope, stir up each other, and gather together! It also states that the habit of some is not to gather together, meaning that the issue we are facing is not a new one for God (Ecclesiastes 1:9). We can hold onto our hope, knowing that God has control over this.  

I challenge you to reach out to someone who has not been to a Gathering in a while. Maybe, they just need an invite from a friend. Maybe you have not been to a Gathering in a while. Please understand that I am not bashing online services in any way; however, nothing beats gathering with other believers. Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” We need to encourage others to come together!