This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Why Does Church Exist?

Why does church exist? We often presume it is for us, the worshippers. We may not be entirely correct.

If you don’t like it, take it back.  If it’s not what you ordered, send it back.  If you want a different one, return it.  If there’s a better price, go somewhere else.  If you aren’t valued, leave.

We live in a world of consumerism. The customer’s needs are of primary concern.  You drive the market, you determine what is sold and at what price, you decide, because it is, after all, all about you.  Within the framework of a free market, this makes lots of sense.

Sadly, it is very difficult for most people to adjust their mindset when they attend a church service.  Everywhere else that they go, if they don’t like the “product” they complain; if that doesn’t work, then they take their "business" elsewhere.  Many churches then have allowed people believe the same thing about church.  We will deliver to you the best “product” week in and week out, because, we are here to serve you.  We don’t want you to leave or else our “business” will be affected, so we will continue to bend to make space for the ever-growing list of needs.  More kids programs? You got it.  Louder music? You got it.  More entertainment in the service? You got it.  Want us to change the decorations? You got it.  More staff? Less staff? Fun events? Shorter services?

Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In much of America it has reached the point where the “consumer” is driving the market.  Many churches have decided that their previous model was not palatable and that the consumer’s needs/desires/wants have changed, so we should change too.

Don’t get me wrong; we want to meet people’s needs.  We want to do it in a way that is culturally engaging and even artful and creative.  However, in many churches this is way out of balance.

Find out what's happening in Plainfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The question then is simple – why does the church exist?

Wayne Grudem, in his epic work titled Systematic Theology narrows it down to three main purposes, which we will look at over the course of the next couple of weeks.

1. Ministry to God: Worship

The church exists first, and foremost, as the body of Christ coming together to worship the God who has saved them.  The first direction that we look as the church is up.  God is of primary concern.  You may think that it is a bit silly to have to state that, but I don’t think it is stated enough.

In a world driven by “finding what benefits me most” we rarely consider the fact that God is the central character in all of the scriptures, and should be the central character in all of our worship services.  This means that our music choices are about God, our preaching is about God, our small groups are about God, everything is about God, and not about the consumers!

If our church services are not about God, then what are they about?  Self-help? Therapy? Good feelings? Morality?

This is why we set aside such a large portion of time dedicated to singing worship songs.  Think about that; it is kind of a weird thing in modern America.  Corporate singing is rarely a part of our gatherings.  Church services often begin and end with singing worship music.  All of us singing together is an opportunity to remind us that we all are equally dependent upon this God.  We worship Him together when we gather.

2. Ministry to Believers: Nurture

Yes, part of the church’s purpose is to minister to you and me.  But not by changing the color of the carpet because we didn’t like it!  The church meets to “spur one another on to love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together…” (Heb. 10)  We regularly meet to open up God’s Word and challenge one another to be obedient followers of Christ.

We meet and are taught by pastors and leaders “to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4).  Churches exist to strengthen, challenge, and encourage us in our personal walk with God.  We have small groups, Bible studies, entire ministries dedicated to teaching and equipping believers.

3. Ministry to the world: Evangelism and Mercy

If the ministry of the church is only self-benefitting then it is dying.  Part of nurturing and equipping believers is equipping them for the work of evangelism and mercy as well.  We don’t just want to raise Bible scholars and morally upright Christians.  We want to raise them up to send them out. We are commanded by Jesus to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28).  Encouraging and even soliciting other people to give their lives to Jesus is one of the central tasks of the Christian.

As Christians we are also called to physically involve ourselves in meeting needs.  The apostle John even connects the love of God with meeting needs when he says “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3).

God has sacrificially given his son Jesus Christ.  Jesus left the majesty of heaven and came and lived among us to save us from the mess that we had made.  We are called to do the same; in word, by proclaiming what Jesus has done and in action, by meeting tangible needs.

It is important that all three of these purposes are in balance.  None of these can be neglected.  To neglect any one of these areas will leave a church crippled, and blind to their own weakness.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?