"You don't have to go to church to be a good Christian"

"You don't have to go to church to be a good Christian."
This is a phrase i hear way too often. The majority of the Christians that use this phrase don't regularly , if at all, attend a church.
I can't disagree with this statement because it is true. Going to church doesn't make you a good Christian. You are the one who determines that through your daily choices and actions. The church is a tool and safe heaven here on earth to help Christians grow and have fellowship together. Now granted their are some churches out their that are not like that and don't display the love and kindness of Christ, but we are not taking about those churches. Half the Christians who use the phrase above use it simply as a cop out. They are only trying justifying the fact that they do not go to church and they know they should. If they truly didn't think they needed to go to church they would flat out tell you that, not make up excuses and cop outs! And we all know good and well that half the time when you don't make it to church it's because you are too lazy or stayed out too late the night before and can't get out of bed the next morning for church!

Christ calls us to go to church! It is a place of Christian growth and fellowship! Fellowship is such an important part in the life of a Christian. In fellowship, Christians can share in each others joy, pain, hardships, and blessings! 1 John 1:7 says "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another..." Also Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says "Two are better than one...if one falls down, his friend can help him up, but pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!....A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
The church challenges you to be better and apply Christs teachings to your life. Christ is the church and the church is Christ! So when we deny the church all together, we are denying God.
Colossians 1:24 says "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of this body, which is the church."
And again, granted, not every church is meant for everybody! If you visit a church or two and don't like them don't just give up on looking! If you went to a certain restaurant to eat a hamburger but you didn't like the hamburgers at this particular place you wouldn't give up eating hamburgers all together! You would go to different places until you found one you liked! Church is the same way! It's apart of helping us grow in our faith. It is so hard to keep up a quiet time or a deep relationship with God with out accountability or motivation.

Now with this subject kind of made me go off on my soapbox, but church is something that is very important and I hate to see people take it so lightly.