Going to Church?

Today a friend asked my counsel about a young unsaved man that he is ministering to. The question revolved around should he have lunch one on one with his friend after the church service or go with groups. Cautioning him that my response would be radical ( he knows me quite well), I questioned whether it was beneficial for him to take his friend to "church" at all. Heresy! Let's think about this. Many people nowadays have never been in a "church service." We are asking them to do something they have probably never done before, be with people they don't know, sing songs they don't know, and listen to someone talk about a Book that they have never read. Many of us are perfectly comfortable with this because we have been doing it for decades. But newcomers may not be. We then hope that the person will respond to something and that overworked and probably underpaid pastors will take it from there. While I'm sure that any genuinely converted pastor would delight in ministering the gospel to someone, the reality is that they have a thousand other expectations to meet, whether their own or that of their congregation. The pastor is the principal player in a weekly or perhaps more often major production. Where does our new "seeker" fit into that? Is there a different model? The spiritually healthiest churches that I know meet for a general gathering once a month. Unlike us however, they are in one another's lives constantly.This can be small group, one on one discipleship or more casual encounters in their homes. A close examination of Hebrews 10:24-25, the passage always used to encourage "church" attendance says to "stir one another up to love and good works," and to "encourage one another." (ESV) Would it not be more fruitful if there were many people who had been discipled to the point where they could minister to an unsaved person, lead them to Christ, and nurture them spiritually for a season, thus preparing them for the strange rituals and traditions that they would experience in a church setting? The other reality of bringing someone to church is that we are teaching them on the practical level that the act of going, which for most people is a rather passive experience, is the core or heart of Christianity. Think about it. Isn't this what many "Christians" believe, based on their actions? What about personal relationship with Christ? Both in my own life for far too long and in that of many others that i have known, their personal relationship with Christ was shaky to minimal. Here is the question that God used to change my heart. If I don't want to spend meaningful time with Him one on one in this life, why would I want to live with Him for all eternity?