[ampaterry]

What can I say, guys?
It is NOT an absolute necessity for a Christian to go to church regularly.
And I preach that as well; you SHOULD, you will be stronger if you DO, but it is not a NECESSITY.
It is like Tithing.
We are SUPPOSED to, and if you want to be as obedient as possible, you WILL, but it is not a salvation issue either.
Of course, neither of these facts are very popular with most preachers.
But then, most preachers are supported by the church, so high attendance and large donations insure their income, therefore they tend to overemphasize both.
Sure glad I am not faced with that temptation!

What is more important than attending and supporting a church?

I once read a story which was told by a pastor in Haiti, which I thought made an excellent point:
A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. (Property values on these islands are LOW!!) Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn't afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: he would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.
After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the original owner went out and found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The moral of this story? If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation.
We come to Jesus “just as I am”, for we cannot cleanse ourselves and make ourselves worthy of his love.
But once we HAVE come to him, once we HAVE accepted him, we must set to work at once ferreting out every trace of worldly sin that is in us, lest we leave a nail for Satan to base his claim for our souls on.
The Word of God addresses this in several places:

2 Chronicles 20:33 (KJV);
"Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers."
2 Corinthians 6:14 (GWT);
"Stop forming inappropriate relationships with unbelievers. Can right and wrong be partners? Can light have anything in common with darkness?"
2 Kings 10:31(NCV);
"But Jehu was not careful to follow the teachings of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not stop doing the same sins Jeroboam had done, by which he had led Israel to sin."

We can be a bit soft and lax on church attendance and probably retain our salvation.
We can be a bit short on our tithe and probably retain our salvation.
But if we are soft on sin in our lives, we are going to lose it.

God bless you, guys -