Why church attendance matters... or does it?

​Why do I still invite everyone to church? Because attendance still matters!
 
I can only imagine amount of people upset about comment and this point of view, and I’m going to say it anyway. As a general rule based upon experience and observation; the more casual the attendance, the more casual the devotion.
 
This is true of in-person attendance and online attendance. And although it may be a minority view, I think it’s a mistake to discount online attendance as though it didn’t count. It is different, but it does count. Especially Whenever someone leanings in, pays attention and takes it seriously. And that can happen in person AND online. 
 
Infrequent attendance (online or in-person) is often a sign of diluted devotion.
 
I have heard the argument, and I agree that I can’t judge someone’s spiritual condition.  I’m not pretending to do that. And no, this is NOT an absolute rule. But it is a correlation I’ve seen again and again. It is something that has shown up in countless conversations in the community and in the pastoral office.
 
This isn’t a description of what should be or even of what always is (we can agree that there are some very devoted Christians who don’t attend church anymore), but it doesn’t take much careful observation to notice that Christians who attend church casually usually have a more casual commitment to their faith.
 
Think about it. If someone used to be fully engaged in the mission (serving, inviting friends, giving, attending, and in a small group), and now they’re doing none of those things and showing up once every two months, do you usually discover that they are closer to God than they were before, or that they’ve drifted further away from God? In my experience, that is almost always a sign of drift.
 
And if someone is going to begin a relationship with Christ, would you recommend that they do this 100% on their own, only occasionally seeking guidance, support, and mentoring from a wider Christian community? I wouldn’t recommend that either. 
 
Infrequent church attendance is rarely a catalyst for spiritual growth.