5 Costs of Making Church Optional

Hebrews 10 warns us not to neglect meeting together—not because God is keeping attendance, but because neglect quietly erodes our faith. Neglect doesn’t require hostility. It doesn’t require rebellion. It simply requires drift. And drift is one of the most spiritually dangerous forces in the Christian life.

You don’t have to be against church to slowly drift from it. You just have to let other priorities fill the spaces that were once reserved for gathering with the people of God. And when that happens, something real is lost. Several things, actually.

Here are five things we lose when gathering becomes optional.

1. We Lose the Encouragement We Were Designed to Receive

Hebrews 3:13 reminds us to “encourage one another daily… so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Encouragement in Scripture is not a bonus—it’s a safeguard. We were not designed to stand firm in faith by ourselves. When we isolate, we cut ourselves off from one of God’s primary gifts of strength: the people around us.

Gathering gives us voices that speak truth when we feel discouraged.
Prayers that lift us when life feels heavy.
A room full of believers reminding us, “You’re not alone.”

No podcast can replace that. No YouTube pastor can replicate that. God wired encouragement to flow through embodied, gathered community.

2. We Lose Reorientation Around Truth

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Every week, something in our world is discipling us: our fears, our schedules, our phones, our workplaces. Without gathering, the loudest voice in your life becomes whatever occupies you most.

But when we gather, we’re recalibrated. We’re re-centered around the Word of God. We’re reminded of what is true, good, and beautiful—even if we’ve forgotten it during the week.

And without that rhythm?
We walk with a dimmer light, we drift more quickly, and we get shaped by something other than Jesus.

No one stays spiritually neutral, and you can't drift toward holiness. We’re always being formed by something.

3. We Lose the Strength That Comes From Being Known

Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other's burdens.”

But burdens can’t be carried if no one knows you. And no one can know you if you aren’t consistently present. Many people want the benefits of community without the inconvenience of showing up—but it doesn’t work that way. A disconnected life is an uncarried life.

When we’re not present, we miss the gentle corrections, the supportive friendships, the timely encouragements, and the wisdom that only shows up through real relationships. Isolated Christians are vulnerable Christians- and the enemy loves vulnerable Christians.

4. We Lose Essential Spiritual Formation

2 Corinthians 3:18 says that “we all… are being transformed into the image of Christ.”
Not “you, by yourself.”
We all.

Transformation is communal. It happens in shared rhythms. It is shaped through practices we repeat together.

Most spiritual growth doesn’t happen in a single breakthrough moment—it happens through the steady, repeated habits God uses to form His people. And gathering is one of those habits. You cannot be shaped by practices you do not participate in. Inconsistent presence produces a shallow faith. Consistent presence produces a durable one.

5. We Lose Our Witness to the Next Generation

Psalm 78:4 says we must declare God’s works to the coming generation.

Every habit we model preaches something. Every rhythm teaches something.Every choice tells the next generation what actually matters. If church is optional to us, it will be irrelevant to them. Students, young adults, families, kids—they are watching. And what we normalize, they will assume. What we minimize, they will likely abandon.

Gathering isn't just for our formation. It’s for theirs.

Neglect Has Consequences—But So Does Commitment

Hebrews 10 isn’t a guilt trip, it’s a lifeline.

Because you cannot detach from the people of God and expect to remain anchored in the things of God.

Gathering is something God gave us so we could stay healthy, grounded, protected, encouraged, and transformed. In a world filled with drift, God has given us an anchor. And that anchor is found in the people we gather with, week after week, as the Spirit of God shapes us together.

Like this blog post? Watch or listen to the full message, “Worship Gathered", on Youtube.