Contrary to what many people think, the church is not unnecessary for spiritual growth. As Kevin DeYoung says in The Hole in Our Holiness:
In more than a decade of pastoral ministry I’ve never met a Christian who was healthier, more mature, and more active in ministry by being apart from the church. But I have found the opposite to be invariably true. The weakest Christians are those least connected to the body. And the less involved you are, the more disconnected those following you will be. The man who attempts Christianity without the church shoots himself in the foot, shoots his children in the leg, and shoots his grandchildren in the heart.
Don’t shoot your grandkids in the heart…love the church.
DeYoung’s book is so far my “book of the year”.
I get his point. Likening not-attending church to violently murdering your grandchildren with a gun is a bit over-the-top, don’t you think?
It’s over the top if it means to never skip a church service. If it means to attempt Christianity without being an active part of a local church as a way of life, I don’t think it’s too extreme. There won’t be any vibrant, strong Christian faith to pass to grandchildren without it.