Lessons from the Mission Field: The Importance of Church

The Importance of Church

The church is God's idea, the bride of Christ, & therefore is important to Him. We're commanded to be part of the fellowship and not neglect meeting.

Lessons from the Mission Field:
The Importance of Church

"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, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

(Hebrews 10:24-25)

Sometimes on the mission field, you have to rely on God for things you never expected to do. One example of this was in the second country we visited on our trip. The men had gone off with the church planter, and the women were with the church planter's wife. All we knew was that we'd be visiting village churches to share with ladies. On our first day, we had about ten minutes' notice that she wanted us to do a 90-minute program focused on the importance of church! Thankfully, God inspired and provided, as He always does when we rely on Him.

The reason for this topic, our leader said, was that people had grown "lazy" and weren't regularly attending church. It was sad to see the same problem we face here in the U.S. Thankfully, GHBC has been studying the book of Acts, and our group was able to give a message about church, share testimonies, and talk about prayer based on GHBC's weekly prayer services.

We shared with them that the church is God's idea, the bride of Christ, and therefore is important to Him. We're commanded to be part of the fellowship and not neglect meeting together. The Bible contains 60 instances of "one another"—love, serve, pray for, encourage one another. We can't obey these commands if we aren't regularly with the people of God. So one reason we attend church is simply that God tells us to.

We also attend for the sake of others. Romans 12 describes the church as a body, many members with different functions. Each believer is given spiritual gifts that are to be used to build the body, and the church is missing a piece if each member doesn't do his or her part.

Another reason to attend church is that it's good for us too. We need the encouragement and accountability of others who are walking with God, who face similar situations, who are further along in life, and who can pray for us and help us during hard times. In a world that's often hostile to Christians—especially in this country we visited in Asia—it's essential to know that we're not alone in following Him.

The problem of people neglecting church certainly isn't unique to Asia. The author of Hebrews wrote about it, and the church in the U.S. sees it. Are you involved in a local body? Are you getting the benefits to your own walk with Christ, and are you doing your part to build the body of Christ? Maybe this year God is calling you to stop neglecting His bride. Like we told these ladies, you must decide it's a priority and follow through on the commitment. The Church, both the global one and the local assemblies, is God's plan for us and is not optional if we love Him.

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

(Ephesians 4:15-16)