One of the trends in Western religious practice of all faiths, including Christianity, is the shift towards digital consumption. The Pew Research Center report released in February of this year observed, among other things, that an increasing number of people are watching religious services digitally: 16% of Americans claim a combination of participating in services live and virtually, and 8% participate only virtually. To view the full report click here.

The question many people are grappling with is, why do we still need to go to church? Can’t I get what I need by watching online? Or, why do we even need the institutional church; if I’m a follower of Jesus and read my Bible, isn’t that enough? Or, I’ve had some bad experiences with churches, hasn’t the institutional Church done more harm than good? There’s certainly a place for checking out new churches online, watching a sermon from a pastor you respect, or watching services when you’re sick or on vacation. As a regular practice, though, something is lost when we fail to come together.

Early Practice

From the moment Jesus left planet earth his disciples began gathering together to pray and encourage each other, “They all joined together constantly in prayer” Acts 1:14. See also Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” The disciples were devoted to the communal practice of Christ’s teachings. And they expected to hear him continue to speak through the preaching of Scriptures and prophetic words. The early Gentile communities all gathered, at minimum, weekly in house-churches. Even Roman historians acknowledged this practice among the early Christians. The writer of the book of Hebrews provoked their congregation, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing” (Hebrews 10:25).

The inheritors of the Christian movement throughout the centuries have all been unified on this need to gather together in the name of Jesus. Listen to Ignatius of Antioch, encourage the believers,

Take heed often to come together to give thanks to God and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith.

He recognized the authority of Jesus within the fellowship of believers. And though the Protestants detested the coercion of the medieval Catholic hierarchy they still asserted the need to gather with other believers in “communion,” under Christ’s Lordship. “I acknowledge no Christianity without fellowship,” remarked Count Zinzendorf.

Church is an Identity

Gathering together was not only a collective practice it was a collective identity. Christians are adopted into a family. We become a “we” and no longer a “me.” Jesus’ disciples are called a temple, a body, a family, a flock, an army, a bride, a people, and more. In the Greek language  [ekklesia], church, literally means “assembly.” Jesus explained that anywhere two or three disciples are gathered together “in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). The power of the Lord’s presence presides in his assembly when we gather in his name. His truths are proclaimed. God is worshiped. And our priorities are realigned according to his will. Like a bed of hot coals, it is when we are heaped together for worship, training, and encouragement that the heat of Jesus’ presence fuels us through each other.

Technology, individualism, and consumerism have turned churches into a place I expect to “get something.” We’ve become consumers instead of contributors. It was not that way in the beginning. Church was designed to be a community everyone participated in; every person contributed in some way to the gathering, “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up” 1 Corinthians 14:26. Peter said we are “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5) being build together, and Paul added, “as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). It should still be our goal to seek vibrant churches that also cluster together in smaller relational fellowships where we are dynamically building each other’s faith.

Church is the Laboratory of Love

The Church community is the laboratory of love where we practice seeking the truth together, but also forgiving each other when we fall short of the ideals we preach. You will be wounded by the church; that’s a certainty. Churches are filled with unsanitary people—damaged and deeply flawed. Yet, we are pledging our commitment to grow in Christ together. That’s how love matures.

It’s impossible to grow in love without being in relationships. You have to do hard things in real relationships, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). In marriages you learn to defer to one another. For your families you learn to sacrifice yourself for the good of others (John 15:13). And in the same way, Christian community is the place where we practice “carrying each others burdens” (Galatians 6:2).

The Church is Christ on a Mission

In a world designed to sabotage your faith in Jesus, the Church is a greenhouse for nurturing it. The gathered church is the home-base operation of Jesus’ kingdom on earth. The local church is the concentration of Jesus’ resources of finances, human leadership, and strategic planning. The local church births intentional efforts to reach the lost, reinforce Godly values in culture, send out missionaries, evangelize our neighbors, equip believers in their faith, and practice good deeds among the local community. If Jesus first came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10) and “destroy the devil’s works” (1 John 3:8) he is still doing that through the Church who is the continuation of his ministry on the earth.

The Church is a community that lives under Christ’s law of love and shares that love with a dying world. We are his praying intercessors who have the authority to ask for his kingdom to come to earth. God’s people are the bodily extension of Christ’s good plans. To not be connected to the Church is to be disconnected from God’s saving movement. And by not participating in his salvation we, in some profound way, fail to grow up to become like Christ. Jesus is sharing his salvation with the nations and maturing us in the process of our participation. We need each other. We may be deeply flawed but we are committed to walking out our faith in the rigor and transparency of community. It’s in community that the church rises up and grows up into the image of Christ.  

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