Is it possible to be a christian nad not go to church ?

If you are reading this with serious doubts about the importance of church attendance, I hope you too will look deeper into the question of what the Bible says about going to church.

Current Status

What does the bible say about church attendance?

The Bible tells us to meet together as believers and to encourage one another.

Hebrews 10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (NIV)
The reason I encourage Christians to find a good church is because the Bible instructs us to be in relationship with other believers. If we are part of Christ's body, we will recognize our need to fit into the body of believers. The church is the place where we come together to encourage one another as members of Christ's body. Together we fulfill an important purpose on the Earth.

As members of the body of Christ, we belong to each other.

Romans 12:5
... so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (NIV)
It is actually for our own good that God want us in fellowship with other believers. We need each other to grow up in the faith, to learn to serve, to love one another, and to practice forgiveness. Though we are individuals, we still belong to one another.

Background

When you give up on attending church, what's at stake? Well, to put it in a nutshell: the unity of the body, your own spiritual growth, protection and blessing are all at risk when you're disconnected from the body of Christ.

Christ's body is made of many parts, yet it is still one unified entity.

1 Corinthians 12:12
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (NIV)
1 Corinthians 12:14-23
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (NIV)

Unity in the body of Christ does not mean total conformity and uniformity. Although maintaining unity in the body is very important, it is also vital to value the unique qualities that make each of us an individual "part" of the body. Both aspects, unity and individuality, deserve emphasis and appreciation. This makes for a healthy church body, when we remember that Christ is our common denominator. He makes us one.