In Need of Prayer and Advice

Hey Riley, welcome to the group! We're glad that you reached out to the people of God in order to find an answer to your concerns. We hope that we can help you in some way.

What you describe here I do not think it is unique to house churches. Even the large institutional churches have difficulty with attendance because the congregants are busy with other things or are worn out from a long week of work. Perhaps it's slightly more difficult for house churches since you have to do some extra work yourself in order to have worship, but regardless, the problem affects all Christian communities.

I have personally struggled over the years to want to go to church. I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that so much of Church is just the trappings. By "trappings" I mean things that are not the Gospel. The last church that I attended on a regular basis was very traditional. They had a morning and evening worship service plus Sunday school. There were also other social events, such as a monthly potluck after morning worship. The problem is that after spending some or all of the day with my brothers and sisters in Christ, I really did not have much time to focus in on the Gospel. It was much easier to come home from church being concerned about a burned out lightbulb in the foyer or a stain on the carpet in the sanctuary than it was to be thinking about the incredible love that God has for us in the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. In other words, church becomes just another form of work, rather than being a place where we can seek reconciliation with God. And given that you're already exhausted from a long work week, the idea of adding even more work to your regular schedule is not terribly appealing. I know for me that's certainly the case.

Since I don't know any details about your exact situation then it's difficult to make a specific recommendation. I would, however, encourage you to think about why you seem so demotivated when it comes to church. I would start by asking myself the question of whether my beliefs have changed or not. If I still find myself grateful that God would save a sinner like me, despite the fact that I stray from him every day, then I think that you are on a good path and just need to make a few changes. Church should be a respite from the daily cares of this world. It should be a place where you can go to encounter God and the love that he has for us through Christ. Please don't get too caught up in making sure that church is done "right". Most important is that you take time to stop and think about our precious Savior, His love for us, and how we respond in faith to Him. Jesus is indeed the "Good Shepherd" who leads us to eternal salvation. All praise be to God for His mighty works!

Please, be patient with yourselves. Our Father is the God of perfect love and he understands that your desires to be together is what you want but your not always able to make that happen. Maybe, you can touch base with each other during the week when you can't get together. Encourage each other that it's o.k. and you are doing your best to get together. Take the pressure off of yourselves and remember that our Father in Heaven is not keeping score.