What to Do When You Don't Want to Go to Church

FEEL LIKE STAYING HOME FROM CHURCH THIS WEEK?

We don't want to admit it, but we have all experienced it. Sunday morning rolls around, and the last place we want to go is to church. What should we do when we have this gnawing feeling of "not wanting to go to church"?

Perhaps you've been fighting with your spouse and kids all week and seeing happy families sitting in church pews multiplies your despair. Maybe church brings back painful childhood memories. Maybe you feel church is more about activities than relationships. Maybe you're embroiled in a conflict with someone at church and want to avoid seeing him or her. Maybe there is a clique in the church and you're not a part of the so-called "in" group.

Sometimes you can feel the furthest from God when sitting in a church service. Perhaps  you never felt lonelier than when you attend church. But why?

Pat Palau and PeggySue Wells have talked with hundreds of people who have openly shared their feelings, their joys, and their frustrations about "going to church."

* Why do some people not want to go to church, and what are some remedies that have been used?

* Why do some prodigals eventually return to the church?

* What are some of the deep wounds and conflicts that occur within the church family, and how have the injured found healing?

PEGGY SUE WELLS and her husband make their home in Roanoke, Indiana, where they homeschool their seven musical children-the WELLspring Fiddlers. PeggySue is the author of What To Do When When You Don't Know What to Say to Your Own Family (AMG Publisher). What to Do When You Don't Know What to Say, Holding Down the Fort, and the contributing writer for a number of other projects.

PAT PALAU and her husband, Luis Palau are the founders of an international ministry. In over four decades of this ministry, almost one million people have made commitments to Christ. Pat & Luis have four son, for daughters-law, and nine grandchildren. The Palau's make their home in Portland,Oregon, near the international headquarters of the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association.