Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?

      It is a popular belief, or expression, among many that we don’t need to go to church to be a Christian, but what does the Bible say? Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some.” And In Ephesians 4:11-13 we are told that Jesus himself gave some people to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.
      What this tells us is that God gives men certain gifts and he has designed each one of us for a unique purpose within a church. We are all given a gift or gifts when we come to believe that; Jesus is the Son of God, he died for our sins, and rose from the grave. These gifts vary from person to person but whatever the gift is it is designed to work harmoniously within a group. The expressed purpose of these gifts, is spelled out in Ephesians 4:12, to equip believers for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, till we all come to unity in the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;” God’s plan for people who believe in Him is that they be in community with other believers. He has designed each of us to work as parts of a whole. Romans 12:5-8, says, “in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Here we should not think of members as individuals coming together but as organs of a single body, like how our heart functions together with our lungs. This is what a church is: members of the Body of Christ baptized into one Spirit which is the spirit of God. The body of Christ is not divided.
      So, does a person have to go to Church to be a Christian? Certainly there are those who can not go due to physical reasons. But what about those who can go but choose not to? Perhaps a better question would be; how can a person who is a Christian not seek out and find a group of believers where they can be their part in the Body of Christ?