By Rich Nathan, Vineyard Church of Columbus

The story is told of a pastor in a New England fishing village who was regularly mocked by several local townspeople when they met him on the street. One day the pastor encountered three men who decided that they would have a bit of fun by challenging the pastor about his beliefs. One of them asked the pastor, "Pastor, you are always inviting me to come to your church. But I have also heard you say that you don't need to go to church to be saved. So which, exactly, is it, pastor? Do I need to go to church or not?"

The pastor responded by pointing to the local harbor and said, "Do you see that rowboat tied to the dock over there? Now if you wanted to go to England, you could get into that rowboat and begin rowing. I suppose you might make it all the way to England, if your boat wasn't swamped by a big wave, and if you didn't die of heat stroke, and if the sharks didn't get you, and if you didn't die of thirst or hunger, or lose your way, or get caught in a storm. Yes, it is possible that you could make it to England by yourself.

On the other hand, take a look at that ocean liner out there on the horizon. My bet is that you would make it to England a lot more easily, if you decided to get on that ocean liner and sailed along with an experienced crew on a route that they had traveled many times before." The pastor continued, "My point, friends, is that you might make it to heaven on your own apart from the church, but I doubt it. There are too many dangers that will almost surely get you off track before you got there. But if you get involved in the church, you have a much higher probability of making it all the way to eternity with God."

Pastor Rick Warren, the senior pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in Southern California made the following observation: "Only in America do you have a significant percentage of people who believe that they are Christians, but who are unattached to any local church. That's like believing that you are an offensive tackle, but refusing to play on any particular football team. A Christian without a local church is a contradiction!"

The New Testament calls individuals to make three great commitments-a commitment to Christ, a commitment to Christ's family (a local church) and a commitment to the cause of Christ (the great goal of world evangelization and ministry to those who are in need). Many people make one of the commitments-they commit themselves to Christ, but not to his family or to his cause, or they get involved in a church, but are not committed to Christ. We need to make all three commitments.

Get on board the great "ocean liner" called the church here in Central Ohio. Find a local church that you can commit yourself to. Get involved with Christ's family and with his great cause.

Rich Nathan is the Senior Pastor at Vineyard Church of Columbus, a non-denominational church located in Westerville, Ohio.

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