What is the Church?
The Christian church is both visible (local) and invisible (universal). The visible church consists of physical gatherings, usually in church buildings, while the invisible church consists of Christians throughout the ages. The invisible or universal church is one, while visible local churches are many.
Every Christian is a member of the universal church because by definition Christians are believers in Christ. Therefore, they are members of His body – the church.
While the visible and local church consists of organizations or institutions, the invisible and universal church consists of all Christians united under Christ.
Purpose of the Church?
God’s church has many purposes such as evangelism, edification, worship and social concern.
To evangelize means to tell others the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ and what He has done. Matthew 28:19 provides the mandate to spread the gospel.
This means that every church needs to be involved in some form of evangelism, reaching out to non-Christians with the truth of Christ.
The church is also to edify Christians. To edify means to build up, equip, improve, encourage or support. Gathering together with other believers, as in attending church, is one important way to be edified as a Christian. We can also be edified by teachings in a sermon, Bible study or small group. There are other ways the church provides edification, but the point is that another purpose or role of the church is to edify.
Worship is also a key function of the church. It is where we gather with other Christians and worship God. This does not mean that a church building is the only place we can worship (it’s not), but it is something the church is to do regularly. Although different Christian churches have different forms of worship styles or music, the purpose is to worship God, not to entertain or amuse the congregation.
Another purpose of the church is social concern. This means we are not just to gather together on an intellectual level, spend all our time in worship or evangelize without humanitarian concern. While evangelism, edification, and worship are important in the life of any church, it’s also important to go out into the world and do something positive to help others just as Christ called us to do (see, Matthew 25:35-36).
Social concern was a key part of the early Christian church and has continued to be a central component of Christianity.
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