3 Reasons to Go Back to Church This Christmas

I’ve been around church most of my life. My parents served as church staff when I was in junior high and high school. I’ve been a youth pastor and I just wrapped up a six year run as a creative director. Now, after moving to a new city with my wife, I’m in a place I haven’t been in for a long time: without a church home. So lately, I’ve been visiting different churches, and if you’ve ever done that, you know how awkward it is to be the “new people”. You don’t know where to sit. You don’t know anyone. You’re trying to figure out if you belong there.

In losing our church and searching for a new one, I’ve been acutely reminded of just how life giving it is to be a part of a church community. There’s real value there—connection, perspective, people—and if you’ve been away for a while, Christmas might be the easiest, least weird time to step back in. So if you’re on the fence, here are a few reasons I think it’s worth giving church a try this Christmas.

1. Worship was meant to be shared

The thing I have said to my wife over and over again these last few weeks is how much I have connected with God in worship at church. Have I been worshipping at home? Sure. Like so many others, I connect with God on a daily basis while I listen to WayFM and worship along with the music we play. There is something different about worshiping with a group. The encounters I have had with God these past few weeks have sustained me long after the church service is over. God meets us alone but He also meets us in community and we find that at church.

2. Less depression.

It’s not an issue for everyone but it is for me: I struggle with depression (especially in the winter). Whether its the lack of sunlight, the lack of Christmas trees, or something else, January and February are the toughest months of the year for me. Here’s where church comes in: those who attend church are at a lower risk for depression than those who don’t. We’re there to worship and learn and serve but that posture of getting our eyes off ourselves is, ironically, self-care.

"Those who attend church are at a lower risk for depression than those who don’t."

You can find more on links between church attendance and depression here and here.

3. You’re gonna need some help in 2026.

Whatever 2026 has for us, Church is a place to find people, community, and connection so that we can face it together. It probably won’t happen immediately. The first day you show up you might not know anyone but over time you will find your people. People who can pray for you. People who can show up for you and people you can show up for. You weren’t designed to do life alone.