When I tell people I am a Christian and I go to the church every weekend, they say having faith is good. However, when I try to evangelize and invite them to go to church with me, the answer is obviously "No".
The spiritual reality of college students like us is usually empty. We want to fill our spiritual world with a religion but we don't want to be bounded by rules like going to church weekly. What we need is freedom, not shackles.
It’s really puzzling for Christians: Why do some people hate going to the church? Here may be the reasons.
1. Lacking correct understanding of Christianity and regarding it as a restriction on freedom.
For Christians, going to church and worshiping God on Sunday is what they look forward to for a whole week. They actively pursue God. For the non-Christians, going to church is just a kind of regulation for Christians. They are forced to do it otherwise they are not devout.
If others have different beliefs or ways of life, we should respect them. Don't let people go to church by means of moral kidnapping, which will put pressure on them. Besides, young people nowadays including me emphasize the significance of our independent existence very much.
In addition to the obligations and responsibilities, nobody wants to be forced to do anything. However, if a person sees you desiring heart for God and your good behavior which shows the glory of God, he may be curious about God and actively unveil the mystery cast of the church.
2. Feeling bored and unfamiliar with the church.
If a person hasn’t heard gospel, we only need to evangelize to make him learn more about the church. Most young people are familiar with the word Christianity but not what Christianity really is. Speaking of a church, what they think of are churches of different styles such as Romanesque and Baroque with gorgeous colorful glass and big crosses hung on the wall. They think they are luxuriant and cool. In fact, most of them are Catholic churches. The style of Christian churches is very modern.
Non-Christians may not understand some church sermons. We can help them obtaining a better understanding of doctrine and meanings of Christianity by distributing some books of bible stories and showing some gospel movies.
3.Some haven’t felt love from God in the church.
Some people go to church because they are simply interested in religion. More people seek for the healing of their hurt heart in a church. They often choose some famous cathedrals where not everyone can be cared about due to the huge amount of the congregation. They may have been in a church for a long time without felling the love from brothers and sisters . Finally they left with disappointment, without healing the heart.
It's time to show your love and sincerity. Please don’t stay in your own circle of fellow members. Wounded souls have found an oasis in the desert , please don't disappoint him. We shall love any other people as ourselves. The setting up of a psychological consulting room is also suggested if the financial situation allows.
4. The ability of the priest is not satisfactory.
Now many college students and professionals go to the church. They are well educated. A priest should make his words logical and concise, centered with a main idea. He should never repeat some aimless words.
Some priests’ knowledge reserve is enough but they are not good at sermon. Some priests’ words are very appealing but the content is empty. Believing God is also rational. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus demonstrated the love of god but the decision of the sacrifice is through rational thinking.
5. The activities of the church is dull.
There are many ways to learn about the church and gospel besides sermon. The church can hold some fun activities and establish some small communities based on common interests. Common interests can also help us strengthen the relationship with other believers and find our spiritual friends.
Many reasons have something in common. In one word, the biggest obstacle is insufficient understanding of Christianity among the youth . If the heart truly accept Christ, old churches, boring activities or simple sermon of the priest will not be any problem.The heart sees no one but Christ.
(The writer is a college students born after 1990.)
