5 Great Reasons To Go To Church When You’re On Vacation
I recently came across an amazing article on Christian Today praising why we should all go to church when we’re on vacation and it really enlightened me. I go to church every week and participate in many church related activities including bake sales, bible study, and youth group, but I admit I’ve never gone when on vacation.
This article made a few excellent points as to why church on vacation is not only the right thing to do, it’s the best thing to do! Here’s an excerpt:
There’s no place like home
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I love our local church. It’s 700 metres from our house and filled with people whom we bump into in the street throughout the week. Our church has been a great support to our family and especially our foster children. It’s not perfect – sometimes our sermons are a bit boring (especially when they are mine) and our musicians are probably not going to be releasing a best selling worship EP anytime soon. But when we’re on holiday I love taking the family to visit new churches. I have gotten it wrong on plenty of occasions – like the time on a visit to Malaysia when the preacher spoke for 90 minutes. But even when I get it wrong, it helps our children to appreciate our little local church and the people that know and love them there so much more.
The Church is bigger than you think
So the worst that can happen is that you go to a church that makes your local church look brilliant. But sometimes, great things can happen when you visit another church. You may get to experience another denomination or culture’s way of worshipping together that opens your eyes to a richer and fuller experience of God. I had the opportunity to visit a 5am prayer meeting in Korea on a Saturday morning and there were thousands of people up before dawn in order to seek God. I found it an incredibly moving experience that will stay with me for a long time.
We have lots to learn from our brothers and sisters around the world. In our local congregation we quickly get drawn into the micropolitics of church life and too quickly forget the wider world. Visiting a church on holiday can help us to experience God in a fresh way, and remind us to hold the global church in our hearts.
We don’t take a break from being Christian
Holidays are a gift from God – even the name betrays their spiritual origins. Holy days are part of the rhythm of work and rest; a rhythm that God intended for human flourishing. We don’t holiday from God, we holiday with God, and so it makes all the sense in the world for us to meet with His people during our vacation.
I recommend reading the whole article at Christian Today. If you’re anything like me, it’ll enlighten you and get you closer to God, even though you might be far from home.
