Why You Should Want to Be at Every Church Social

As a minister, my job description includes meeting with those interested in joining the Church, visiting members and prospective members, counseling, anointing the sick, fundraising, speaking and writing. And one more thing—organizing socials.

Anyone who has been to a Church social, or has been a part of planning one, will tell you it entails a lot of work and attention to details. The ministry has been trained to understand the inner dynamics of what makes a successful social. They work hard at providing a variety of fun and interesting activities in their areas. Planning meetings can begin months in advance.

Finally the day comes. There is great anticipation. As a minister, I am excited by the opportunity for everyone to spend valuable time together. The start time passes and then…“Where is everyone!?”

After weeks of announcements and work in coordinating the event, it can be disheartening to see who did not show up!

Did flu sweep through the congregation? Or was it something else? Sometimes the excuses are as simple as, “That is something that does not interest me,” “I do not have the time,” “The location is just too far to travel if it is not a Sabbath service,” or the most common, “I need time to myself.” These reasons may have some truth to them, but are they good reasons to not spend more time with brethren?

For those who do not attend socials (and there are some who consistently do not attend as they should), it is likely a misunderstanding as to why they should attend. There is also the possibility that some have the wrong viewpoint about socials and their many benefits.

Think of it this way: Would you ever skip a Sabbath service, Passover, or the Feast of Tabernacles as long as you were physically able to attend?

Then why would you voluntarily choose to miss a Church social in your area? You could be thinking, “Well, that is different. The Sabbath and Holy Days are required by God.”

Not so fast. Feast days are not the only requirements by our Father, who wants us to develop as sons and daughters.

We all know fellow Christians are family. It goes without saying that families should have strong bonds—especially the Family of God. Socials, by design, provide the chance to be included in that bonding.

Make no mistake. Socials provide heaps of fun and fellowship, but there is so much more for Christians to profit and glean from them. For one, these events are a cornerstone of vibrant, healthy congregations contributing to the overall strength and unity of the Church. In addition, they play an enormous role in our training as future facilitators and restorers of families in God’s coming Kingdom.

History

Going back to the Church in the 20th century, under the leadership of Mr. Herbert Armstrong, socials were special events anxiously anticipated by everyone. They filled an important role in reinforcing the spiritual family—a crucial tradition that brought cohesion to the Body of Christ.

Traditions help form the backbone of how things are done in God’s Church. In some cases, they can carry as much weight as doctrine. Members are commanded to “hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (II Thes. 2:15). The tradition of local socials continues today in the Church.

Here is a look back to the golden years from last century’s Philadelphian era (Rev. 3:7). Mr. David Pack described how important socials were to local congregations in his book The Government of God: “Every congregation held periodic socials across a broad range of types. Each of these required planning, organization, communication and structure—and details were usually not left to accident. There were picnics, formal dances, snow parties, trips to interesting places, singles and seniors activities. There were also all kinds of sports teams and sporting events—softball, basketball, volleyball, golf, hockey and track meets—and some of the larger pastorates were able to sponsor tournaments that were always wonderful occasions in the calendar year…”

The vast majority of brethren were always excited to be around each other more. They looked for ways to fellowship outside of the Sabbath or Holy Days and thrived on this verse: “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psa. 133:1).

Unity was (and still is) a real driving force for more fellowship. This is not a new concept. Back when the Church first began, brethren desired to be together all the time: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46).

This desire had everything to do with the Spirit God gave His children. It led to “singleness of heart.”

One of the themes of the letters to the Corinthians was unity. “I beseech you, brethren…that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (I Cor. 1:10). Chapter 12 adds to this, stating that “there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another” (vs. 25).

God’s Spirit is the catalyst that draws brethren together and socials are the mortar that keeps the family core strong. As vital as unity is, it is not the only benefit from attending socials.

Benefits

Since we live in the devil’s world devoid of the love of God, life can get hard and even disheartening at times. Having fun is an indispensable aspect of God’s way of life. People will gravitate toward others who are happy, joyful and like to have fun.

When others see Christians, they should ask: “Who are these people? Why are they so happy? They do not seem to be gloomy, depressed grumps!” Socials provide us a place to build this characteristic.

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit and fun is a byproduct of joy. God is not devoid of fun—quite the contrary.

Understand that fellowshipping is of vital importance for anyone who has God’s Spirit. Do not forget who our fellowship includes: “…that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (I John 1:3).

We get to see exciting personality traits of the Father and Christ through others when we fellowship at socials. These gatherings give us the chance to reveal the richness of our personalities—which stem from God. You really do not ever want to miss a social for that reason alone!

Of course, there always needs to be proper balance. Back in the Worldwide Church of God, because of the sleepiness of the end of the Philadelphia era, people began to focus too much on socials and not enough on learning and holding onto the truth, hence the apostasy and transition to the Laodicean era. Too much fun and not enough focus on why we were called can actually destroy brotherhood.

For those who lived through those times, do not allow bad memories of “socials gone bad” to drive you away from attending Church gatherings today.

When properly understood, socials are the necessary glue that holds together our spiritual family.

Personal Development

There are additional hidden benefits that are even more important than just enjoying a good hamburger, conversation and a volleyball game.

Considering we are training to work with countless numbers of people, the most logical place to start is being around others and learning how to be people persons. Socials open the doors to more focused training in this area.

Personality: Many who grew up in a dysfunctional world with its many distractions have tended to lose the age-old art of interacting with other human beings.

This 21st-century plague has fostered debilitating shyness and reclusiveness. This can be difficult to overcome, but attending socials is the best way to do so. This is because Church gatherings allow you to practice outgoing concern for others.

Socials also allow you to learn more about others because you can display personality traits you might not normally show during the more formal setting at Sabbath services.

Service: Socials offer opportunities to serve that you do not always get on the Sabbath. (I have personally never seen more smiles than when people are serving at a social—and it is contagious!) Even if it is serving a sandwich to your brethren, teaching someone to swing a baseball (or cricket) bat, or working with your team to win a game of charades, helping others is an integral part of these events.

Leadership: If you desire to lead, you must practice leading. Socials tend to have a lot of moving parts and can offer more opportunities to lead than other Church events. (The Feast is a larger event, however, it contains multiple socials within itself!)

A crucial lesson for all leaders is to expect the unexpected. Nothing ever goes perfectly, so dealing with issues and problems that arise are opportunities to make appropriate judgment calls. Leaders must think on the fly and anticipate anything. Having that mindset really sharpens leadership aptitude.

The Proper Mindset

Even after knowing the advantages of attending Church socials, there are some who just do not come. But habitually passing up attendance will hamper your growth and development.

Since local socials were implemented long ago as part of our calling, they should not be viewed as optional!

We are part of a larger team and socials are part of our training. Sometimes we fall into a one-dimensional mindset that our training only involves “spiritual” activities, and that fellowshipping with brethren is simply “extra credit.” Worse yet, some could think activities like praying or studying would be a better investment of their time than attending a social. They may question what tossing water balloons on a hot summer day or sledding down a hill in the winter have to do with Christianity.

Remember that this is a sign of imbalance or self-righteousness. Such a mindset cripples the ability to grow as God intended. We need to be well-rounded, balanced and to thrive on variety. The tools of Christian growth are imperative, but they are not the goal of Christians in and of themselves. Instead, the tools should propel you to serve other human beings (especially fellow Christians)—and socials are the place for this to occur!

Some tend to spend more time with their own physical family rather than their spiritual family. Both are important, but we must make spending time with Church brethren a priority (see Matthew 12:48-50).

Make Socials a Priority

There is a time for “every purpose under the heaven” (Ecc. 3:1). Did you realize that many of these listed include social activities? There is a time to “laugh,” “dance,” “embrace,” “speak” and “love.” In most cases, these require being with other human beings.

We must take this personally and make every attempt to attend socials in your pastorate whenever possible.

I have found brethren are always willing to assist others in getting to a social if the reason they cannot attend is related to finances or transportation. Do not allow pride to make you refuse someone else’s help if they are willing to provide.

The pattern of history has painted a wonderful portrait of the importance of local socials. These gatherings are what carry us through the year as we anticipate our annual family reunion at the Feast of Tabernacles.

It really does not matter how big or small the social is, or even what kind it is. The opportunity to do something together is what matters.

Make it your goal to take full advantage of these exceptional times to have fun while continuing your “people training program” in serving others and practicing godly leadership.

Lastly, realize that something very inspiring is unfolding in congregations across the world. Local socials are growing larger in attendance. Also, brethren are traveling to participate in socials in different pastorates.

Do not be the person who misses out on this wonderful trend. Do not let another social go by without your important presence.

God uses socials to abundantly bless us. See you there!