The above question is one that most people, Christian or not, consider at some point in their lives. Christians may wonder what the big deal is about church: Is it necessary? Why are there so many denominations? What should someone look for in a church? Is it wrong to not attend one? Non-christians may wonder if they’re missing something by not going to church: Do you miss out on heaven by not going to church? I wasn’t raised in church, but should I raise my kids in church so they grow up to be good people? On the contrary, some may have bad experiences with church: someone in a church hurt them deeply, someone was dishonest to them, someone took advantage of them, etc. The purpose of this article is to dig a little deeper into a few of these questions and consider what church is and why it is essential for Christians.
First, it is necessary to define how the word “church” will be used here. There are generally two ways to use the word “church.” First, the “Church” is the universal group of followers of Jesus Christ. True Christians, those who have repented of their sins and trusted in the person and work of Jesus Christ, compose the international “Church” (uppercase). In contrast, the “church” (lowercase) refers to a specific, local congregation of believers in Christ (i.e., the “church” down the street). All true Christians, regardless of the “church” (a local congregation) they attend, are a part of the “Church” (the universal body of believers).
Many books can be (and have been) written on the topic of church, but here we will dive into a brief overview of some of the most important functions and purposes of the local church.
Worship: Praise and Teaching of the Word
One of the primary purposes of church is to worship God. He is worthy of our praise and adoration and His Word is worthy of exaltation through scripture-centered preaching (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).* Common liturgy includes a time of praise at the beginning of a service, and this time is provided to allow the heart of the Christian to be focused on the Lord and to praise Him for who He is and what He has done. Following praise is preaching. This is done in different styles depending on the congregation, but overall, it is glorifying to God for His Word to be proclaimed among His people. This teaching should be gospel-centric and true to the Word of God.
Elder Guidance
The church is not run like a dictatorship, and though one pastor is often responsible for Sunday sermons, the structure of elders is critical. Humans are not perfect, and though there are many great men who qualify as elders (1 Timothy 3:1-7), they are still not perfect. Having a team of men who are committed to the Lord and committed to doing what is best for the church is healthy. God’s design for eldership and having people in place to collectively make decisions and form the direction of the church is extremely wise; they provide counsel to each other and to the general congregation and are able to teach. They give direction to congregation members who are going through difficult situations and work together to enact church discipline when it is necessary for the protection of the congregation.
Fellowship, Accountability, and Discipleship
Christians are not designed to be isolated. The Lord uses community and accountability to grow us and to encourage us. Surrounding ourselves with like-minded people who believe the gospel as we do is crucial for the development and encouragement of a Christian. Again, the gospel we believe describes the person and work of Jesus Christ: that Jesus was fully God and fully man, was miraculously born from a virgin, lived a perfect life, died an unlawful death on the cross taking our punishment for sin upon himself, was buried, and rose again miraculously in 3 days. However, we must note that it is important to not stay in a Christian bubble; interacting with unbelievers is essential for evangelism and the spread of the gospel, but our closest companions should be followers of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14). Additionally, one of the greatest gifts in the Christian life is a friend who keeps you accountable in terms of sin struggles (iron sharpens iron). Having a trusted friend who will lovingly confront you in your sin (Ephesians 4:15) and work with you to develop a plan to attack your sin is extremely helpful. Discipleship is also crucial in the church; more mature believers can counsel and disciple younger believers and help to build them up in the faith. All of these things take place as a result of healthy involvement in the local church.
Sacraments
Another function of the church is to administer the sacraments. The two sacraments we as Protestants practice are communion and baptism. Neither are required for salvation, once again, but they are commanded in scripture and we practice them in obedience to God.
Paul talks about communion in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. When the Corinthians would come together to partake in communion, they often did so in an unworthy manner. Paul corrects them and says that they are not to take it out of hunger, nor should they take it without taking a genuine look at the state of their heart. If they have unconfessed sin or are at odds with a brother, they should correct those issues and confess them before moving forward taking communion. The bread and wine symbolized the body and blood of Jesus Christ during his death on the cross. By partaking in communion with other believers, we are remembering what Christ did for us and proclaiming His death until He comes, as Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11. Acts 2:42-44 shows the believers being devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread (likely referring to communion), and prayer.
Baptism is the other sacrament that is commanded after repentance takes place. In Acts 2:38, just before the communion mentioned above, Peter preaches to repent and be baptized. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 commands us to go and make disciples and baptize them. Why? Well, baptism is the outward expression of an inward reality; it shows the witnesses of the event that the believer has devoted their life to following Jesus Christ and that they have trusted in the person and work of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Though not required for salvation, this is a critical step of obedience after justification to make one’s faith public.
Attending church is not a requirement of salvation; true repentance and trust in Christ’s humanity, deity, perfect life, death on the cross, and miraculous resurrection are required for salvation. However, meeting together is a command in scripture (Hebrews 10:24-25) that we are to obey. God ordained the church for the benefit of believers. However, because it is not a requirement for salvation, many people use a variety of excuses to explain their way out of attending a church. A common reason people do not attend is because so many resources and live streams are available online. These are great resources and can be very helpful in certain situations, but using solely online resources should not be the normative practice of the Christian. As mentioned above, accountability and fellowship are extremely crucial parts of being in a body of like-minded believers. These can truly not be replaced in a virtual format.
Another common reason people avoid attending church is because they have been hurt in some way by a church in the past. They may view other Christians as hypocrites and say that they are better off “going it alone” on their walk with Christ because other Christians are clearly not a good influence on them. While it is true and real that people can be hurt by a church, it is imperative to recognize that a few Christians in one congregation are not representative of believers as a whole. Christians are not yet glorified, meaning they have not been restored to perfection. We are being sanctified by the grace of God, being made more like Him each day, but we are still far from perfect and are plenty capable of sinning against one another. Even in the early church, the Christians did not treat each other perfectly. However, they had no choice in terms of going down to the congregation on the next street corner. There was THE church of Corinth, for example, and they knew that it was better to be in the church and to work out their issues with each other than to not be in the church at all. Fight for reconciliation before committing to never return; the benefit of Christian fellowship far outweighs the risk of living alone as a believer.
Some people may also say that because they can worship anywhere, going to church to worship is not necessary. While it is wonderfully true that we can worship our God anywhere, this does not negate the need for worshiping as a corporate body (Psalm 66:1, Psalm 150:1-6, Colossians 3:16). God created the church as a place for His children to get a little taste of what eternity will be like, and that glory is not replicated in solitude.
A Replacement for Biblical Parenting
Going to church as a family is wonderful, but it is not the responsibility of the church to teach children all that they should know about salvation and living as a Christian. A child’s primary teachers are the parents. Church is a wonderful supplement to that teaching, but one to two hours a week of church influence is not enough to instill the truths of the entire Bible into a child’s heart and mind. They need daily encouragement and teaching and reinforcement, and church services cannot accommodate that. Being involved in a church should be a priority for a family, but the teaching of the church is supplemental to the parent’s influence on their children.
A Place to Strictly Socialize
Though one of the functions of church is fellowship with other believers, it is not the only function and we should not minimize church to the social aspect. We are there primarily to worship the Lord with our fellow believers. Enjoy each other, but do not let socialization be the sole reason for your church attendance.
In addition, let the social part of church gatherings be intentional, meaningful, and uplifting. Hebrews 3:12-14 says, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” We are called to fellowship with one another because we can encourage each other, exhort each other, and hold each other accountable in a unique way because of our shared beliefs as Christians. Though church attendance does not and cannot save you, God can use it mightily in your life as a means to community that tethers you to Christ and keeps you from straying. Use the opportunities you are given to be together with other believers to encourage them and tether them to Christ and the gospel.
Solely Responsible for Your Spiritual Growth
Church is a wonderful place filled with very knowledgeable people who, in a Bible-believing and gospel-centered church, will confer Biblical wisdom to the Christian. It is a place to worship, learn, grow, and fellowship. However, just as attending church cannot save a person, it likewise cannot make someone more spiritually mature just by simply attending. The believer must listen, understand, and respond to what is being taught in the church. They must take initiative themselves to meet people, to seek accountability, and to actually grow their personal relationship with the Lord outside of the church setting. Intentional, daily engagement with scripture and the practice of prayer is the responsibility of the believer, not of the church. The church can encourage it, but just as with any other type of learning, the “student” will learn what they want to learn.
There could be a very detailed and comprehensive list provided here for what constitutes a good and healthy church. In short, though, the main things to be concerned about are whether the church is right about the essentials of the faith.
Mark Dever produced a great resource entitled “Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.”** Both the website and the book provide helpful insight into what a Christian should be looking for in a church. There are plenty of preference-based items that exist in churches as well that differ from congregation to congregation, but the most important part of any church is how they view God and the gospel. There are primary issues of doctrine: things such as the gospel, the view of God and the Trinity, and the deity of Christ (that Christ was fully God and fully man). Other things that are secondary and tertiary issues and should be considered as such. Churches that split over the carpet color are clearly missing the point of church: to glorify and worship God as a body of believers and to exalt Him above all things as we use the gifts He has provided us to make us more like Himself. Yes, some roles in the church can be filled by multiple different people, but each individual Christian is not replaceable. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 explains how each person in the body of Christ plays a distinctly important role. You as a Christian have a spiritual gift that can be used for the glory of God in the church. Get plugged in, use your gift, and glorify God. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:18, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”
* All scripture in this article is referenced from the English Standard Version (ESV) translation.
** Dever, Mark. “Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.” 9Marks. https://www.9marks.org/about/the-nine-marks/
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