I’m thankful many churches today put their services on radio or television; it’s the only way some people are able to share in their ministry. As I’ve grown older, I’ve often profited personally from this kind of outreach. The first Christians used every means they possibly could to reach their world for Christ, and so should we.

Having said this, however, I hope you’ll reconsider your decision to become disconnected from your local church. Yes, you can share in its ministry to some extent through television — listening to its music, hearing the Word of God as it is preached, sharing in the prayers. These can change our lives, as we ask God to use them to speak to us. Is this happening to you?

But worship shouldn’t be a spectator sport! We worship best when we worship together with other believers, if at all possible. Jesus regularly attended public worship, the Bible tells us, as did the Apostle Paul (see Luke 4:16; Acts 17:2). The Psalmist declared, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Psalm 95:6).

God wants to change our lives, and one way He does this is through our worship. But God also wants to use us in the lives of others, and one way this happens is through our relationship with other believers. The Bible says, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).