The Sabbath is meant to be spent with God. As such, attending the church has been the common way to most, if not all, Christians. This is correct. Going to the church is important and a critical part of the Christian life. But what does the church really mean? Why did Jesus and his apostles emphasize the value of the church?
But first, it is important to understand what the church really is. The truth is that the church is not a building. The church is you and every follower of Christ that meet in a building to spend time and worship God. This is a common misunderstanding among people. The venue is just a building. The church is actually the people that meet inside the building.
So how does a person become the church or part of the church? The church is composed of a head and body. The head of the church is Jesus Christ and his followers are the members of his body. The Apostle Paul said, “God’s Son was before all else, and by him everything is held together. He is the head of his body, which is the church.” As a person becomes a follower of Jesus, he becomes part of the church, the body of Christ. He becomes a member of the body.
Jesus is the only head of the church as a body can only have one head. But the body has many different members. This is where the ministry of the church begins. Some members of the church are called to preach, and so there are pastors and preachers and missionaries. Some members of the church are called to sing and lead people to worship, and so there’s the worship and music ministry. Some members of the church are called to pray and lift up the concerns of the people to God, and so there goes the intercessory ministry. And for some, the calling is to watch over the people of God and speak His words to these people, and so there are prophets who keep the school or ministry of the prophets.
