08/17/2026
Church should NEVER feel like a high school cafeteria where you have to figure out which table you’re allowed to sit at.
We have got to stop confusing being a longtime church member with being spiritually mature.
You can know every hymn, every Bible story, every pastor, every church tradition, sit in the same pew for 30 years, and still completely miss the heart of Jesus if you don’t know how to love people.
Jesus didn’t tell us to only love the people who look like us, dress like us, worship like us, have the same amount of money as us, or already have their lives together.
Actually, Jesus had a habit of getting close to the very people religious folks looked down on.
Church is not a country club for perfect Christians. It is a place for broken people who desperately need Jesus—and that includes every single one of us.
So if you’re reading this and church people have made you feel unwanted, judged, intimidated, uncomfortable, or like you weren’t “Christian enough” to belong…
PLEASE DON’T GIVE UP ON GOD BECAUSE PEOPLE represented Him poorly.
Go to church.
Sit down.
Listen to the Word.
Worship.
Pray.
Cry if you need to.
Raise your hands if you want to.
Sit quietly if that’s where you are.
Walk through those doors with your head held high because you are not there to impress the people sitting around you.
You are there for GOD.
And trust me—God sees you.
But He also sees the sideways looks.
He sees the gossip.
He sees the cliques.
He sees the judgment.
He sees the person who walked right past somebody who desperately needed a smile because they were too busy getting to their usual group.
He sees ALL of it.
So maybe the question shouldn’t always be:
“Why don’t people want to come to church anymore?”
Maybe sometimes the question needs to be:
“What are people experiencing when they get here?”
Because if we are going to call ourselves Christians, then when somebody walks into the house of God feeling broken, lost, scared, ashamed, lonely, or completely out of place…
They shouldn’t have to wonder whether they’re welcome.
They should be able to see Jesus in US.
And if they can’t?
Maybe they aren’t the ones who need the heart check.
Let’s make the church and heaven crowded!!!!! Friendship welcomes everyone. Your seat is waiting. Come join us!
