what is the purpose of church

[ayin jade]

A member made a post elsewhere that I thought would make a good topic. 

 

What is the purpose of church? Not the body of Christ church, but the place where you worship. Is it a place to seek the lost or a place for believers primarily? 

[ayin jade]

I think too many have lost sight of what church is. It is a place for believers as a community to grow, to be supported, to gain in their faith. It is a place to worship our Lord. I think seeker friendly places, where the emphasis is on getting unbelievers to church makes things harder for believers. I think it diminishes church for believers. The mission field for unbelievers is outside the church. Not inside. 

 

Which is not to say that unbelievers are not welcomed. But church is for believers first. Not unbelievers first.

[alphaparticle]

I tend to agree with your statement on it ayin. It's a gathering of believers, to teach each other etc. Believers are supposed to evangelize, but I don't see that as the primary purpose of having a church situation. That seems to be something that particular ministry, in a church, should focus on perhaps.

[The_Patriot21]

Both. Primarily, the church is there for believers to gather and grow in their faith, yes, however heres the thing. We are all called to go out and seek the lost-and since we make the church, that is also the churches job. A church should not be focused 100% in-yes it should look after its members and help them grow, but it should also be out there, in the world, evangelizing. We need to be out there evangelizing.

[Guest shiloh357]

I think too many have lost sight of what church is. It is a place for believers as a community to grow, to be supported, to gain in their faith. It is a place to worship our Lord. I think seeker friendly places, where the emphasis is on getting unbelievers to church makes things harder for believers. I think it diminishes church for believers. The mission field for unbelievers is outside the church. Not inside. 

 

Which is not to say that unbelievers are not welcomed. But church is for believers first. Not unbelievers first.

 

 

The purpose of the Church is not to attract people.  Churches are to be missional, not attractional.  Reaching the lost is what happens outside the four walls of the Church.  The Gospel is what we "go and tell,"  not what people "come and see."  

 

The ministry that occurs in the church is "body ministry" primarily.  That is where believers are equipped, edified and taught to take the Gospel outside the four walls into the world.   THe problem is that we have lost the knowledge of the holiness of the Church and what happens in the Church.   There is a prevailing attitude of "anything goes"  these days.  You can see it these threads of late.

[Guest]

What is the purpose of church? Not the body of Christ church, but the place where you worship. Is it a place to seek the lost or a place for believers primarily? 

 

 

For Guts

 

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

 

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

 

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

 

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Ephesians 4:11-15

 

And Glory

 

Praise ye the LORD.

 

Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.

 

Praise ye the LORD. Psalms 150

[LookingForAnswers]

A church exist to save the lost, this should be the singular focus of every church.   Next would be helping the poor and those in need.  The great commission was not to pump each other up and make each other feel good, it was to save the lost.  

[Guest shiloh357]

The Church's mission is to preach the Gospel.  But the local church is the vehicle out of which the Gospel is to go into the world.  It is the equipping center where the believer is taught, trained, edified, and prepared to be a light to the world outside the four walls of the church building.

 

The church worship service is not an evangelistic tool and was never designed to be a place for sinners to minister to believers.  That is a perversion of the church's commission. 

 

The Church is a priesthood of believers and that priesthood is exclusively the role of Christians not sinners who are in rebellion against God.

[desi2007]

I think the purpose of the Church is to be the believer's spiritual family. It is through the church that God takes people with different personalities, and gifts, unifies them as a single body, and equips them to care for each other and to reach out to the world. We are just not meant to live out a christian life alone. It's together we find our own purpose in life.

 

[ayin jade]

A church exist to save the lost, this should be the singular focus of every church.   Next would be helping the poor and those in need.  The great commission was not to pump each other up and make each other feel good, it was to save the lost.  

 

That is not the purpose of church according to the bible. The purpose of believers is to spread the gospel and to help those in need. But the purpose of the assembly of believers is to build each other up in order to accomplish the spreading of the gospel and helping those in need.