Notice I do not say that they leave churches because they don’t love God, but that they leave the Church for that reason. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for leaving a local church and, though this is not the place to discuss the subject in detail, I readily admit it may be a necessary step on occasion. Leaving the Church, however, is a very different act.

There has been a lot of talk lately about various reasons for people leaving the Church. Millennials, of which I am one, have been the focus of much of this discussion and both positive and negative views of the generation have been presented. If I thought any of the supposed main characteristics of those of us born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s had any significant part to play in our relationship to the Church I’d present them now. However, I don’t actually think any of it matters.

Setting aside the whole idea of zeitgeist for a moment, let’s remember that the human condition as detailed in the Bible is consistent from one generation to another. Every one of us is born in sin (Psalm 51:5), without any ability to do good apart from the grace of God (Ephesians 2:1-2, 4-5), and liable to the judgment by our very nature (John 3:36). Yes, our circumstances vary but our hearts remain the same- at enmity with God until His loving Spirit transforms them (Romans 8:7). This is why I find it a little ridiculous that we waste our time asking questions like ‘why do people leave the Church?’ Oh, reasons abound – political agendas, not-hip-enough worship, too-hip worship, lack of charity, intolerance, over-tolerance. Yet fundamentally, the reason anyone leaves the Church is because they don’t love God (1 John 2:19).

Now I want to tread carefully here. Notice I do not say that they leave churches because they don’t love God, but that they leave the Church for that reason. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for leaving a local church and, though this is not the place to discuss the subject in detail, I readily admit it may be a necessary step on occasion. Leaving the Church, however, is a very different act. To leave the Church is to abandon the fellowship to which the Scripture calls us (Hebrews 10:24-25). It is to cease loving Christ’s own bride (Ephesians 5:25-27). Leaving the Church is separating oneself from Christ Himself (Colossians 1:18) and demitting the sacred priesthood which belongs to all believers (1 Peter 2:9-10). Why would anyone do this, but for lack of love to Christ who is Head and King of the Church?

Indeed, it is inconceivable that any true believer, having experienced the transformative power of Christ could set aside their new life and return to the condition wherein they were not in fellowship and worshiped not God the Father through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit along with all the priesthood of the faithful. A momentary backsliding aside, the answer to the question ‘why do people leave the Church?’ is that they were never truly a part of it. They may have attended services and helped out at church socials. They may have prayed and praised as well as anyone. But they possessed a form of godliness, denying its power. They were participant members of the visible Church but had no membership through faith in the invisible Church.

In accepting the above brings great freedom. Recognizing that no one can say that “Jesus is Lord” but by the power of the Spirit means that we don’t have to worry about the reasons people give for leaving the Church or not becoming a part of it. We are not responsible for their thoughts and we are not responsible for their actions. We are responsible as believers in Christ and, if so gifted, leaders in His Church, to carry out the Bible’s instructions regarding how the local church is to be governed, how it is to worship, and in what ways it is to minister to those outside its fellowship. The only question that matters is ‘am I being faithful to the teaching about the Church as revealed in the scriptures?’

People come and people go – Millennials included – but the Word of the Lord endures forever in the heavens. Through his apostles God has provided all that we need faithfully to care for His Church. We must pray that we be enabled see through the fog of faddish, often media-driven behaviors that encumber the Church’s worship and message. We must pray that we grow more deeply in our faith in and love toward God. We must ask that Christ cause us to love the Church His bride as much as He does. We must stop being subject to the whims of a culture that is fundamentally at enmity with God. We must fear God rather than men. Above all, we must pray that our weak, imperfect efforts to do all these things may be perfected in the power of the Holy Spirit to draw those back who have left, to bring in those who have never been with us, and to keep us secure in our Godly profession.

Stop asking ‘Why do people leave the Church?’ and start praying, ‘Lord, build your Church.’

Evan McWilliams is a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Lakeland, Fla., is an architectural historian, and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of York in the UK. This article appeared in his blog and is used with permission.