According to a new nationwide survey released by the Barna Research Group, attendance at religious services has declined for the fifth consecutive year and has hit an 11-year low. More than four out of five Americans call themselves Christians, but less than half (37%) of them attend church services in a given week. The biggest decline in attendance has been among the baby boomers between ages 30 and 50.

In the average community there are lots of people, many who would claim to be Christian people, who do not often attend church. Some of you are listening to me right now. For many Sunday is the only day off in a very busy week so no one is likely to use his Sunday to take in a church meeting unless he is really convinced and persuaded to do so. Let me give you some facts that might encourage you to take out time from your busy week for church.

First, did you know that God actually tells us to go to church? The Bible actually says in Hebrews 10:25 "You should not stay away from the church meetings as some are doing. But you should meet together and encourage one another." Many Christians are unaware of this verse in the Bible. If you are like me, you don't like anyone telling you what to do, but on the other hand, if God actually said it, maybe it would be a good idea if I listened.

Second, going to church will be good for you. God says, "I am the Lord who teaches you what is best for you and who leads you in the way you ought to go." (Is. 48:17) Of course, Christian people are not perfect and wherever there are people, there are problems. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is avoid people and you avoid the problem. And certainly there are hypocrites in the churches but they are everywhere else you go as well.

Nevertheless, what God tells us to do is for our good both now and in the world to come. Research is now confirming that church going people are generally mentally and physically healthier and happier than their non-church going counterparts.

Third, going to church will help you bless the people around you. It will bless your family. Jesus teaches that "Everyone who hears these things I say and obeys them is like a man who built his house (or we might say his family) on a rock. It rained hard and the water rose. The winds blew and hit that house but it did not fall because the house was built on a rock."

In our country the family is really taking a beating. According to former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett the population has increased the last thirty years 41% but divorce rates have soared 400%. Illegitimate births have quadrupled. 31% of all births today are illegitimate. Violent crime has skyrocketed 560% and teen suicide is up 200 %.

Jesus wants families to survive the storms of life. So he wants families to go to church where spouses will be taught to be faithful and where children will be taught honesty and humility and self-control. And He says that if we obey Him we will be building our lives and our families on a rock.

Research is now confirming the truth of these words. David Larson, a senior government researcher in Washington DC, says that his research over the years clearly indicates that marital satisfaction and over-all well-being tend to increase with church attendance, that people who attend church are more that twice as likely to remain married. A 1986 study of Harvard economist Richard Freeman found that among black urban youth, church attendance was a better predictor of who would escape drugs, crime and poverty than any other single factor and that church going youth were more likely than otherwise comparable youth to behave in socially constructive ways.

Want to bless your family? Want to provide a strong foundation for your family that will enable it to stand the storms of life? Then listen to God. Do what He says. And go with your family to church. It's the right thing to do. It's a good and beneficial thing to do. It's the smart thing to do. Hope to see you Sunday!