Ministers Blogs
“What does the church do?”
So many times, people think about church as just Sunday morning, Sunday evening worship, and Wednesday night Bible study. Although worship and Bible study are essential to the Christian, as we can see in Heb. 10:25 which teaches, “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” However, the Bible does present “church” as more than just Sunday and Wednesday meetings.
Notice the book of Acts, we learn that as soon as Christ’s church began, in Acts 2 with 3,000 people repenting of their sins and being baptized (Acts 2:38-41). The church immediately “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:41-47, Acts 20:7). The church continued to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and convert lost people (Acts 8:4,12; 16:15; 16:30-33). They continued to give to those in need (Acts 4:34; 11:29). Elders were appointed in the local congregations (Acts 14:23) and the leadership delegated certain responsibilities to reliable men (Acts 6:2). Christians continued to meet for prayer (Acts 4:31; 12:12). They sent out missionaries so that the gospel of Christ would continue to be spread beyond their communities (Acts 13:2). Although there were many good things taking place, there were also problems in the church; but they worked through them as we see in Acts 6 and 15. Once the church began it continued to reach out and grow. This was done in large part because the early Christians understood that being the church was not just limited to what was done on Sundays and Wednesdays.
In reading the book of Acts we see that the church continued to function and work outside of the regular gatherings of Christians. These Christians were continually devoting themselves to the purpose and will of God. They looked for opportunities to teach the lost, help those in need, pray together, and continued to be faithful to God in between meetings.
So, what is the church doing today? What are we doing today once we leave the assembly? Do we look for opportunities to teach, to help, and are we continuing to be faithful to the Lord once we leave the assembly?
I have seen over the entrance of one church building the phrase, “Enter to worship. Leave to serve.” How true! As we gather each week to worship, will we leave to serve and be the Lord’s church where ever we go? Think about! Written by Mark T. Tonkery
