To be considered a good Christian do you have to attend church every Sunday? As a child every Sunday it was mandatory to go to church. I went to church every Sunday with my parents or my grandmother.I always believed church was the only place you could  praise and get the word of God but as I grew older I learned you can have the word of God at home reading the Bible and praying to God. Many people may have different aspects of what they think a good Christian should do. These aspects are usually from their childhood experiences or teachings. Malaki, a 15 year old boy, lived with his mother as a child. She took him to church every sunday which showed him that going to church was mandatory. But due to family trouble he had to soon move with his grandmother. This change in household he lived in change made the way he lived different. Instead of going to church every sunday he went mostly for religious holidays. Malaki has been directed in a different way than at first but still believes that he is a great christian.

What is your religion? Is it true? Explain?
I  am a Christian. My religion is true because this is the religion my mother taught me and I grew up on this religion. I don’t know any other religion to consider my own religion untruthful.

Who introduced you to this religion and how?

My mother introduced me to Christianity by my mother taking me to church every Sunday. This helped me to learn about Jesus and God so that I could be a better Christian.

Do you still go to church every Sunday? Why or Why not?
     I do not go to church every Sunday because of my schedule and now that I live with my grandmother who sometimes go to work on Sundays I would not make church on time. This is not an excuse for why I do not go to church but the sincere reason. Also I have a busy schedule myself so going to church would make me even more tired.

How has family affected your religion?
     Family hasn’t really affected my religion. Religion has affected my family. I was taught to go to church and to follow the rules of the Bible. I have been living a Christian life by following the rules of the Bible to the best of my ability regardless if I make it to church on sundays. Even though moving from my mother affected me from going to church every sunday I still pray everybody and worship God at home every sunday. 

Have you ever questioned or doubted God?
I questioned God every time he took away a life of someone close to me or someone innocent in Chicago. I felt upset, why would God kill the innocent people those are not the people who should die? There are people in the world who do not praise him but are still living. Why do these people who praise him die?. But I do understand that they are in a better place than earth.

Do you believe in Hell and Heaven? If so where do you think you when it’s time? 
Yes I believe that the Heavens and Hell are real. I would go to Heaven if I were to die today. I would go to Heaven because I try to follow the things that my religion says to do and what not to do. For example in the Bible it says to love your neighbor and I as a child of God I have been showing that. Also Jesus died for my sins so in order for me to be forgiven I have to ask for forgiveness. This lifestyle that I live is for the most high God and he knows my heart is for him so he will open the gates of Heaven for me.

Does living with your grandmother now affect your religion?
Yes living with my grandmother and not my mom affects my religion because now that I have moved I don’t go to church as much as I use to. My grandmother is more religious than my mother in a way, when things gets rough she always turns to God rather for my mother would try to handle things herself. Even though we don’t go to church that much she seems to teach more about God, Jesus and the Bible than I ever learned at church.

Is it  mandatory to go to church every sunday? Explain?
I feel you do not have to go to church every sunday to be considered a good christian. You can worship anywhere or anytime so church is just a place where you can worship with other people. You have a personal relationship with God he knows your heart you shouldn’t have to go to church to express to him. Don’t get me wrong going to church is a good aspect of Christianity and you should attend church when you can but you should not think you are a bad Christian if you can’t.

Do you see yourself having the same religion in the future?
In the future I do see myself being a Christian for ever. I was born in a Christian family and would love to keep the tradition going.

How do you feel about the restrictions your religion has?
I feel some things should not be restricted because you only live once on earth so you should be able to experience certain things. But I follow the restrictions because I know at the end when I go to Heaven it’s all going to be worth it.

      Malaki has took a turn from going to church every Sunday to barely going at all. He still considers himself as a great Christian because of his dedication to live as God wants him to live. His perception of a Great Christian was fascinating to me and I wanted to know more. This made me feel that he had a point about the way Christians are viewed and the way he lives is surprising but understandable.