I am joining the church I have been attending by profession of faith (received Christ as my personal Lord and Savior) but my husband refuses to join saying he does not believe in some of the doctrines of this church, such as the rapture. He believes that upon death, we are present with the Lord and we do not have to wait for the graves to open to be in His presence. It is kind of confusing to me. He also says the church celebrates Easter and not the Passover. On this account, I see his point but also know the Church does not celebrate the pagan rituals but rather celebrates Christ’s victory over death.
Your husband is right in the sense that when believers die their spirits go directly to be with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). Their bodies are buried in the ground and quickly decay. At the Rapture those spirits will be reunited with a new physical body that will never die. At the same time, living believers will be made immortal in the bodies they have. Together we’ll all go to our home in the New Jerusalem to be with the Lord.
All Christian churches celebrate Easter instead of Passover. But in the last few years many Christians have observed what’s called a Messianic Passover that emphasizes the prophecies of Jesus contained in the Passover celebration. There’s probably one near enough to you that you could attend if you like.
Joining a local congregation is not mandatory, but if you desire to belong to one with your husband this information could help you alleviate his concern.