ATTEND AND GET PLUGGED INTO CHURCH
The Purpose of the Church
According to the Bible, there are five primary purposes for the church:
- Meeting together regularly for fellowship and worship.
- Teaching biblical doctrine.
- Observing the sacraments (such as baptism, which signifies entering the community of faith, and the Lord’s Supper, which signifies continued participation in the community).
- Equipping believers for ministry (for example, by teaching you how to love your neighbors like Jesus does).
- Praying together.
A picture of church can be found in Acts 2:42 (New Living Translation): “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals [including the Lord’s Supper], and to prayer.”
All believers in Jesus Christ everywhere throughout the world are part of the one universal church. But believers also need to be part of a local church, which is a group of Christians who meet together, submitting to one another in love, as a local expression of the universal church.
Church is NOT:
- A building
- An event
- A place where a podcast is recorded and distributed
- A place for an audience to be entertained by a production or have an emotional experience
- A theological camp to belong to
- A group of people to hang out with until you disagree with them or get tired of the teaching or music
- A place to be seen, flirt, or find a date
The purpose of a church is to glorify the Lord by gathering as Christ-followers. No church is perfect. Every church will have strengths and weaknesses. Decide what is most important to you in a church and extend the grace to others that you also need yourself. Engaging in the church means bringing your gifts and talents to serve the church and its mission. The church reflects God’s image when each member is contributing for the good of the whole.
Being a part of a church is a commitment to a relationship. As with any relational commitment, it will involve humility and difficulty, as well as joy and blessing.
Don’t quit pursuing the fellowship God has for you. Perseverance bears fruit in your character.
We would love for you to join us this Sunday at 10:30am
at Huntington University – 8385 W MARINERS WAY, PEORIA, AZ 85382
If this would be your first time
we would love to know you’re coming and you can even register your kids in advance to save time on Sunday morning.