Faithful Church Attendance Encourages Your Leaders

[The following is excerpted from the book, Gather: Getting to the Heart of Going to Church, Copyright © 2021 by M. Hopson Boutot. Click here to download the entire book for free.]  

Faithful church attendance encourages your leaders. Hebrews 13:17 says that church leaders “are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.” There is coming a day when every pastor will be called to give an account for the souls of the sheep in his flock. Most pastors I know take this heavy responsibility very seriously.

Simply put, it’s hard for your leaders to know how your soul is doing if they don’t see you regularly gathering with the saints. It concerns them. Regardless of your reasons, they’re still concerned. And they should be. Not because you’re doing anything wrong, necessarily. In chapter 6 we’ll discuss several reasons why it might be right for you to be absent, at least temporarily. But they’re still concerned. I would suggest if your pastor isn’t particularly concerned about you when you’re away from the flock than you should question his love for you. If you love him back, don’t underestimate the encouragement you’ll be to him simply by faithfully gathering.