Going to Church Could Literally Save Your Life

What if your doctor prescribed you a new medication that, if taken once a week over the course of your life, would prolong your life expectancy by seven years, significantly increase your chance of happiness, and substantially reduce the likelihood you’ll suffer from depression? Would you take it?

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found a “miracle drug” that does this. What is it? It is the age-old habit of church attendance.

Despite what you may have been told about church, study after study has shown that people who attend church once a week or more are happier, healthier, and longer-lived than those who don’t. If any other habit had such positive effects on our well-being, it would be in high demand.

When the first church was born, we are told, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

The weekly gathering of fellow believers in local churches has never had more competition for our devotion. What is the difference between those who gather regularly for church and those who don’t? It is simply a matter of devotion. You can be interested in or involved in many things. But you can only be devoted to a few things. And if you are devoted to attending church, it will limit your involvement in other, less important things.

What is devotion? Devotion is wholehearted affection that aligns our priorities. Devotion is a response of our hearts to the devotion Jesus has demonstrated to us.

Are you devoted to gathering for church? I am not asking if you are devoted to a calendar event. Are you devoted to knowing, loving, and caring for Christ-centered people who are mutually devoted to knowing, loving, and caring for you?

Churches are started, grown, multiplied, and served by those who are devoted. And research shows that when you are devoted to the church, it can have a dramatic impact on your spiritual, mental, emotional, and relational health, not to mention the positive impact your devotion has on others.