I Loved God, But I Felt Alone in Church

How friendship became the missing piece in my worship experience.

Image: AI-generated using ChatGPT (OpenAI)

I was sitting in a church pew one day, reminiscing about the time when I felt unmotivated to go to church. I love God, but feeling lonely in a crowd made me not want to go. Instead, I would rather stay at home and meditate.

However, growing up in a home where we were trained to go to church every week made me feel guilty whenever I missed time with God. But how could I feel excited when I felt so alone in the middle of worshippers, wondering if somebody would say hi to me?

Sadly, it didn’t happen at first.

What I eventually realized is that I should not wait for someone to make the first move. Instead, I needed to take the initiative. That became the start of my journey — to also become friendly to someone sitting quietly in the corner, waiting for someone to smile or greet them, and to help them feel that they belong to the family of God.

What started as my own need became a solution for others as well.

After some years, I began to form a small core group of friends. We started having “date nights” after church services. From there, we planned activities such as hiking, swimming, walking, jogging, playing pickleball, stargazing, picnics, church-hopping, and many more. Through these activities, our relationship deepened, and we also became more involved in helping the youth through the Pathfinder ministry.

I have noticed that I now feel excited to go to church because I have a core group of friends. One day is not enough for us because we enjoy doing many things together.

I believe that God intended the Sabbath not only to deepen our relationship with our Creator, but also to strengthen our fellowship with one another, a bond that God desires to see among His children.

So, the next time you see someone sitting alone in a pew, why not smile and greet them? Let them feel that they belong. You never know — those small acts can leave a lasting impression and may be the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple “hi.”