Throughout the time that he has been serving God, world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham has heard his fair share of reasons why people quit the church. However, Graham believes that people should not stop going to church despite their negative experiences with their former church.
"People drop out of church for all sorts of reasons. And some are understandable — if a particular church isn't preaching the Gospel, for example, or has no program for their children. Instead of completely dropping out, however, I always urge them to ask God to guide them to another church," Graham writes in his advice column for the Kansas City Star.
On the other hand, there are times when people drop out of church simply because they want to do something else. They might find the church boring, or maybe they didn't get a friendly welcome. Sometimes people even feel that going to church has become a "meaningless routine."
"But these aren't true of every church, and often they're only an excuse to do something else. It's not a new problem; believers in New Testament times were urged to strengthen each other spiritually, 'not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing' (Hebrews 10:25)," says Graham.
What the evangelist wants these people to do is to reflect on where they can find Jesus Christ in their lives.
"Is He only one of many interests we have, or is He the center and foundation of all we do? A casual approach to Christ always leads to a casual approach to church. But once you realize who Jesus is and what He has done for you through His death and resurrection, you'll never treat Him casually again," says Graham.
He encourages Christians to continually pray for people to have an "inner hunger" to draw themselves closer to God.
