No. Going to church matters, but it isn't the goal. The goal of Christianity isn't to be nice, live moral and attend church. It's to be the church, live on mission, and let your life and your mouth be a witness for Jesus.
As we were starting Pillars, I talked with a lot of people about their faith. When the conversation got to whether they were following Jesus, people who weren't actively walking with Him almost always said some version of, "Yeah, I need to get back into church." Not once has anyone said, "I really need to be a better witness for Jesus." Most people think following Jesus and going to church are the same thing.
Right before Jesus went back to heaven, He told His followers, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8 ESV). Notice what He didn't say. He didn't say, "You'll receive nice buildings, comfortable chairs and great coffee." He didn't say, "I'll send you professional pastors to do all the ministry while you cheer them on." As a professional pastor, I wish He had. But He promised every one of His followers power, so every one of them could be His witness.
Here's one way we've domesticated our faith. Jesus gave us a go-and-tell faith, and we've turned it into a come-and-sit faith. Church becomes a product we consume instead of a mission we join. It's easier to critique the church we attend than to live like we're the church. It's too loud. The lights are too dark. The kids' ministry isn't fun enough. The pastor goes too long. (Okay, that last one might be fair.) But the only review we should be leaving is a review of ourselves.
"Isn't that a little dramatic?" Let's put some numbers on it. In one national study, about 69% of American adults called themselves Christians. But only about 9% of those self-identified Christians held a biblical worldview, and 58% believed a good enough person could earn their way into heaven. Christianity has become a box we check, not a life we live.
Now look at what happened in Acts 2 when people actually heard the gospel and responded. "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42 ESV). They met at the temple and in homes. They were wildly generous. Their faith wasn't a weekly event. It was "day by day." They didn't have a church growth strategy. The church did the devoting, and the Lord did the adding.
So yes, be in church. You need it, and it needs you (Hebrews 10:25). But don't confuse showing up with following. Ask yourself: Am I a witness for Jesus? Am I telling others about Him? Do I look more like Him than I did a year ago?
Scripture: Acts 1:8; Acts 2:41–47; Matthew 28:18–20; Hebrews 10:24–25