Last week, I posted an article on 7 Ways Leaders Can Make the Most of a Church Meeting. It is vital that those who preach the Word and lead in worship are in step with the Holy Spirit. Yet, while this obedience should start with those called on to lead, it must not stop with them. All of us must approach the church service with an attitude of obedience and a hunger for God.

Attenders are to be engaged. God works in the pew as surely as He does in the pulpit, and the listeners should be as Spirit-led as they want their preacher to be. Here are a few suggestions we all can apply…

1. Prepare and pray. Our hearts should be in a spirit of prayer and worship before we ever come to the meetings. Public worship should be the overflow of private worship. Do not expect the music to do this for you. Do not expect the pastor to do this for you. Do not expect fellow worshipers to usher you into the presence of God. Come close to God before you come to the church house!
2. Come expectantly. If we fill the church calendar, fill the hour with the motions of worship, and fill our notebooks with sermon notes but miss the Lord we will leave empty. Claim the promises of God. Through faith enter into the meeting believing that God is going to speak to you. If you come expecting you will be ready to receive what He has for you.
3. Bring your own copy of the Word of God. Some churches have pew Bibles and many now put all of the Scriptures up on a multimedia screen. There is nothing inherently wrong with either, but there is something missed when we neglect to open the Scriptures for ourselves. Get acquainted with your Bible. Mark key verses and thoughts so that you can go back and meditate on them later. Get into the Word for yourself.
4. Arrive a little early and don’t rush out when the meeting is over. You have heard that you get out of something what you put into it. If the meeting is important then we should let that be reflected in the time we give to it. In the moments before the meeting seek to get your own mind ready. Speak to others. After the dismissal, spend a few minutes just talking with fellow believers. Some of the most precious times of fellowship take place before and after the meeting itself.
5. Be a participant, not a spectator. You may begin as a listener but Scripture is clear that God is looking for doers and not just hearers (James 1:22). Too often those in attendance sit in pews with the idea that they are there to watch the people on the platform perform. This is not true worship! Those in front may lead – but that presupposes that others are following. Pray when prayers are offered. Give. Sing. This Sunday it is time for all of God’s children to get off the bench and get in the game.
6. Minister to others. This is one of the chief reasons that we gather. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Yes, you can worship anywhere but you cannot “exhort one another” by just watching the live stream. It is not only the man standing at the pulpit who is to minister – all of us are to seek to minister to the needs of other members of the body.
7. Don’t let it stop when the service ends. As God speaks we must respond. This begins while the Word of God is being preached. Public invitations for prayer and decision are a wonderful starting point, but they are not the end. When the final “Amen” is given this is the starting line of obedience. Take some truth from Scripture with you and determine to apply it to your own life.

Plan to be with God’s people this Lord’s day. We should never miss an opportunity to study the Word and worship together. And don’t just go – go with renewed purpose and determination to make the most of every meeting.