A facebook user asked an interesting question: is it advisable for a husband and his wife to go to different Churches? As interesting as the question sounded to me, it drew up another question within, the question which is now the title for this piece, and we are looking at the importance, if any, of our Church-going in our relationship with God.

There are no rules that promote the compulsion of a wife to join her husband in his Church, and vice versa, neither are there any in their going their separate ways as it concerns Church-going. Matters of faith are personal and conscientious; and should be respected as a fundamental right to hold personal belief. It takes great guts to respect how ones right stops where another's begin. This is what is so hard for the Boko Haram insurgents to understand.

Interestingly, it shows understanding, trust and their liberties, expressed in their decision to attend separate Churches, if their decision is mutually agreed upon - this, on personal grounds, is very commendable because looking at it more understandably, almost all Christians inherited Church-going from their parents, as a laid down tradition - we are Christian because we were born by Christian parents. Otherwise we would be Moslems if we were born by Moslems parents, or circumstance can lead to a change in an originating faith. This is why religion must be left as a personal right of choice.

However, it shows the unity of purpose, togetherness, family and submission before public eyes when couples walk together always. Nevertheless, there is nothing spiritual in Church-going if our first and only Church is not well celebrated by us. Our first Church constitutes, for example, me and 1 or 2 others, as Jesus clearly revealed in scriptures: he is the head, and he is present in the gathering in his name of 2 or 3. We must not mistake this 2 or 3 for human beings only, because we have lives outside earthly things which has to do with human relations with the spiritual.

For me, the first being I chose to be "2" with, is "the living word" - the Bible, the only earthly personification of Jesus Christ, the Truth. I chose him for my spiritual conversations. He, in turn, makes me hunger and thirst for the second person, who make us 3. So as the 2nd person in my worship to God, I also have chosen "the living Spirit of God", I chose him for my spiritual instructions, assistance and growth, by and through the Word (Truth).

It is when we are with these 2 beings (The Word {Truth} and the Spirit) in worship that the Almighty God is said, in John 4:20-24, to seek those who worship him. It means God will always visit us when we have an open Bible before us to converse with, and when we are elected of the Holy Spirit, who is inherent also in the word, who opens our eyes to what the word tells us in our conversations - this communion draws the wisdom, knowledge and the understanding of God into our human-framed mindsets, bringing eternal life (John 17:3).

One with God is said to be "the majority". This kind of gathering together is more effectual to us than the whole world gathered together in a physical human-arranged convention, and all those assembled, bearing several and individual expectations in their hearts other than their communion with God, distracted by various things, loving the beatings of musical instruments, enjoying the semantics of men, and joyfully "paying" for the experience, while dancing in a mad, energy-sapping frenzy.

Every worship is to God, and every gathering together of brethren (fellowship) is for the planning of community services. This means that worship is our communion with God in spiritual fellowship with him, vacated by the minimum of "2": you and another, or more - it is a personal duty to choose those who join us in worship. Fellowship is usually the gathering together of like-minds, to plan how to affect communities with their presence therein. We carry light in darkness and we preserve from corruption.

So far, let us ask ourselves how well our Church-going has faired in helping us with our living for God? Let us take this question back, and review our presence in our communities - how impactful have we been, as the Church in Nigeria. Seek how our Churches in Nigeria have helped us as a nation. I will give you a simple example of what to take note of:

While Apostle Paul took offerings from the Gentile brethren (Romans 15:26) to mitigate the famine the Jews suffered in Judea, Bishop David Oyedepo and his spiritual offspring in Nigeria are looking beyond the hunger and poverty in the land, and like Bishop Oyedepo was building 10,000 Churches during the COVID-19 crisis, boastfully saying this to show his capacity in planting concrete monuments around Nigeria, when he should be planting yams, beans, millet, corn, tomatoes (farm settlements), they all target the building of concrete monuments.

Jesus served food, but did not lift a stone to add to the temple building. He rather brought the idea and philosophy of having a Temple down, and gave us his own body. When his attention was turned to the magnificence of the Temple, he said "Verily, not one stone would be left upon another that shall not be thrown down". He took the responsibility for building his Church. The building of his Church is the sole responsibility of Jesus Christ, the head and the husband of the body.

Bishop Oyedepo and his spiritual offspring can use all of Nigeria to build a monument for Christ for the world, but it is not their responsibilities to build the Church which Jesus is Head. If they are rich, they should choose to build farm settlements and do what Aliko Dangote is doing - mitigating our food security.

Nobody sent Church leaders to raise congregations and to take "tithes and offerings" from us: they appointed themselves. Nobody gave them such mandate. And this is to reveal every Church leader "standing in the Holy Place" as "the abomination that makes for desolation". This is the picture of the crisis in Church-going: the propensity for the leaders to compete among themselves, showing forth power, authority and affluence; talking as the mouth of God, forgetting that the only mouth Jesus has on earth is the scriptures, from where they assume their self-confessed authorities.

So if these leaders can assume their authorities from scriptures, then why not us too, as they do? This is how lazy and dependant on men we have been to God, losing the person of God (Emmanuel) in our lives. It is God who should be with us, and in us...not a "Baba" somewhere.

I come in peace!

Ini Akpan Morgan writes from Uyo, Nigeria.

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Church going is simply to encourage the pastors business. It has nothing to do with your relationship with God, even though they always tie both together.

It is o.

Your not going to church does not stop you from being saved