This is what friends sometime say to each other when they depart from each other, and they are not quite sure when they will be in each other’s company again. Sadly, there are many members of the body of Christ who we could say that to when they leave after a worship service. This shouldn’t be the case. After a worship service on Sunday morning, we should know for sure that we will see most of the other saints that make up the local church in just a few hours. We of course cannot predict who will get sick, or perhaps a few may have to work on Sunday evening. But as for the rest, we should know that they are going to come back for Sunday evening worship service. Sadly, in regard to some, saying to them upon their departure, “See ya when I see ya,” would be more apropos then saying, “See you tonight.” In truth we don’t know when we might see them again. It might be on Wednesday night when we gather for Bible study. It might be the following Sunday when we come together to worship God or it could be a month or more before we see them again. Their commitment to serving God is so weak and sporadic, that there is really no telling when they might show up at worship services again.

One excuse for not coming back for services at the next appointed time that seems to be used more often any more is “I’m going to be visiting tonight.” Let me make it clear that visiting other congregations from time to time certainly isn’t wrong. Nobody thinks that it is inherently sinful to do so, nor does anybody look down upon someone who visits every once in a while. But here are my thoughts on visiting other congregations.

First, this ought to be a rare occurrence. Somehow some have gotten it into their minds that it’s okay to visit other local churches in town on a regular basis. The truth is that’s not okay. Each member of this local church has made a commitment to this church. Other Christians are counting on your support which includes your presence at every service. When a Christian visits a different local church in town for no apparent reason, that Christian may not be forsaking his or her duty to partake of the Lord’s Supper and to engage in other acts of worship, but he is forsaking the assembly that he committed to when placing membership with a particular group of Christians.

There are clearly some occasions that might make visiting a church that is not your home congregation necessary. For example, a person might have to work on Sunday afternoon and will not get off in time to attend the services of his or her home congregation; however, they might be able to make it to a local church that is closer. That’s understandable, isn’t it? There might even be a situation that is permanent and the brother or sister might tell the elders that he or she will be attending the other local church involved every Sunday evening until their work schedule changes. That may not be a desirable situation for the home congregation, but again it is understandable and might be the best thing to do. There may well be other situations that might make visiting a sister congregation necessary occasionally. Maybe another church in town is having a gospel meeting and the only night you can attend is Wednesday night and you really want to support that church by attending their meeting. Maybe one of their members made a special effort to come to our gospel meeting and you want to return the favor. Thus, instead of attending our Wednesday night services, you visit the other congregation. Most will agree that this is an acceptable action. Nobody is going to say that you would be wrong in doing that, but once again that type of situation is not going to happen a lot, probably not more than a few times a year.

There may be other scenarios that take members away from the local church that they have made a commitment to (certainly if someone is out of town, they are going to have to visit another congregation). But if a brother or sister is in town, the brethren are expecting them to be at services. Period! Remember, we have all made a commitment to this local church. God views commitments very seriously. He rather we not make a vow, than to make a vow and break it (Ecclesiastes 5:4). So, the question is, will we keep our commitment to this local church and attend every service, or will we just say to ourselves it really doesn’t matter. My hope is that more will start honoring their commitment.