What is the Church?

The Apostle Paul would whole-heartedly answer that question as the Body of Christ.  And I think that all of us
would agree with him

But what is the purpose of the Church?  That one is a little more difficult, isn’t it.  Because everyone has a different opinion about that one, and the Bible isn’t real clear.  How well is the Church doing?  That’s even more difficult.  Because that one involves measurable metrics—we identify things that we think a church should be doing, and we assign different weights to each of these things, again, they are personal opinions.

Rick Warren wrote Purpose Driven Church in an attempt to answer that question.  In that book, he identifies five things a church should be about:  Fellowship - Discipleship - Worship - Ministry - and Evangelism. 

So according to Warren, a church should be doing these five things.  And I would suggest, it’s not enough for the church to just offer these, each believer in the church should be involved in each of these five areas or the church to succeed. 

Fellowship involves being together, talking about life, and life’s struggles.  It involves being together for all the events the Church puts on.  Coming to every dinner, every service, every time the Church gathers.  Yes there are times you can’t make it, but if you emphasize the value of fellowship, you make a sincere effort.  Discipleship involves Sunday School, Small Groups, Bible Studies, Men’s Breakfasts, and the like.   

Worship includes the Sunday service, but also special services, prayer events, and other times the Word of God is shared and discussed.  Ministry means service.  Every believer , and by extension, every member of the Church, should be involved in some ministry.  Using your gifts and abilities to grow the church and bring glory ot God.  And finally, Evangelism is simply sharing the reason for the hope you have.  We are not without hope when we know God is with us and that He loves us.  Let others know where your hope comes from. 

It's only when the Church does all these things that it can be said that it is a good church.  And it's only when the members of the Church join in together when these are done that makes a church great.