If you’re feeling burned out from serving in church, you need a break. I am sure your pastor understands. As a pastor, I’d rather someone take a break from duties and still come than to leave the church altogether.
Secondly, be sure to have a good chat with your pastor about this.
Sometimes having the same people involved all the time is a bottleneck for the younger ones to come up.
Thirdly, remember that a church is a family, not a social club. The purpose of church is to be part of a family and if we keep changing churches to suit our needs and wants, that’s not a family. Family is about commitment. We don’t change families just because we feel like we are being ignored.
I am not saying you need to stick with this church. I am just saying, it’s not a valid reason to leave, in my opinion. I think a valid reason would be like if their theology was different or if God is specifically calling you to another church.
Being in a huge church has its pros and cons, too. It’s hard to be noticed, even as a newcomer. I went to a mega church locally and was not spoken to till our 5th visit and that was because we sat outside the staff room for lunch, on purpose, to see if anyone would talk to us. And on our 3rd visit, people were still asking us if it was our first time.
What’s really important is — where has God placed you? And where is He leading you to be? Pray, and ask the Lord for a book, chapter and verse before you open the Bible to see what it says. God speaks. We don’t choose churches based on their rate of friendliness. Ultimately, God decides. He calls and He predestines. Even if we don’t like His decisions at various seasons, the end result will be worth it.
Every church has different callings, just like all of us have different callings. Some churches are like cruise ships, some like hospitals, some raise armies. This is why it’s so important to know where God is placing us.
I think it’s so important to get to the root of the issue and just check our hearts — why do we even go to church in the first place? Are we here because we are lonely and looking for a friend? Are we here to worship God? Are we here to grow the church? Are we here to serve? Are we here to grow? But what is God’s initial purpose for the ekklesia in the Bible? Why does God even want us to go to church? Does God even want us to go to church?
“And upon this rock, I shall build my ekklesia, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt 16:18 — talks about the purpose of the ekklesia as one having authority and power.
“For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:7 — a place of prayer.
“Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhort one another.” Hebrews 10:25 — talks about a church being an assembly that exhorts each other. (So you might have a point here.)
And there are many verses on what a church is. The word ‘church’ is not the same as the word, ‘ekklesia’ that Jesus talks about but that’s a whole different topic.
Finally, when it comes to saving of souls, just remember that we reach out to them because we love them and don’t want them to go to hell, not because we want to grow the church. Church growth really should not be our concern. It should not even be the concern of the pastor. I don’t believe in purposefully growing the church. But I believe in saving souls. What’s the point of having a big church? God never told us to have a big church. In Acts, the Christians grew in number but not because they wanted to grow their church. I grew up in church with this mindset that we need to grow the church and I believe we have lost our focus as a church — to focus on the church rather than focus on God. Let’s forget about church growth and just focus on loving Him and loving people.
I guess if you’ve tried talking with them and they still do not respond, there’s no way out but out or pray for a miracle.
What has God said about where you should be going? If I know God has called me somewhere, even if my family hates it, I drag them through but that’s only when I am dead sure about it. It’s so important to listen to what God is saying than to listen to what man is saying. If I listened to what my husband and kids want all the time, we would be going to a super hyped mega church but God is telling me to start our own church and that’s difficult for us all but I am willing because I am dead sure, even if it’s just my kids and me.
