The purpose of the church

The purpose of the church is to be the church

To exist. To belong to God. To belong to each other.

The purpose of the church is to exist and to live in holy communion.

What is the end goal?

• To be together in worship and prayer
• To be together in service
• To be together in fellowship
• To be together in learning

The end goal of the church is to be: to be in existence, to be like Christ and to be together with Christ and with each other. 

We don’t apologize for wanting to be together every chance that we can.

We don’t apologize for wanting to linger in God’s presence and with one another.

And we don’t have to be planning some cool event or activity or program or outreach when we are together. 

We can enjoy being together. 

We can enjoy the moment we have been given to eat, laugh, sing, pray, talk, listen, work. 

Whatever it is that we are doing, while together, the being together part is the first priority. 

Of course we are seeking to be together with God so of course we know that we should be doing the things that God wants us to do. And when we do this we will find grace and joy and salvation and fulfillment as we faithfully and obediently abide together in Christ.

We will be fulfilled and experience the fullness of life as we “faith” together. We will experience abundant life as we pray together and worship together. We will discover what it is to be fully alive as we confess to each other and bear each other’s burdens. We will flourish as we encourage one another and spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

We will walk in the fullness of God’s blessing as we consecrate ourselves together to the Lord. 

There is no higher calling or purpose for us. If we are not happy and fulfilled in these things then we are missing the point of it all and looking or hoping for something that God never said He would give. I want to challenge you, whether you are clergy or laity, the purpose of the church is to be and when we understand that, it will change how we look at everything church related. We will find much more joy and contentment in the church and perhaps can once and for all stop trying to bring corporate metrics and systems into the church and instead rejoice that we are part of the family of God.

I praise God for the church and for the power of being together with Him and my brothers and sisters in the Lord.