When it comes to the church, one of the biggest misunderstandings about it is that many think God asks us to go to it. However, God makes it clear throughout scripture that the church is not a place we go to but a group of people who build each other up in Jesus Christ. In essence, God doesn't ask us to go to church so much as be the church.
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Jesus said that He would build the church, but never did we ever see Jesus construct an edifice or set a specific location. And there's not even any record of Jesus leading what we would consider a conventional church service by modern standards.
That's because when Jesus said that He would build the church, He was referring to the work of building up the people who would be the church. Jesus built Peter up to be the rock upon whom the other disciples and believers would be established, meaning that Jesus meant for relationships, not buildings, to be built.
The church exists on the foundation that is relationship - first and foremost on the vital and crucial relationship we each have with Jesus Christ and secondly the relationship we have with each other as believers.
Acts 2:46 says, "And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts." The essence of the early church was not that they attended church together. They attended the temple together, but not the church because they were the church.
The Greek word for church is 'ekklesia' which means a gathering of people. God doesn't want us to go to church, but to be the church as we draw near to each other. While buildings, services, systems, missions, campus ministry are all important, they must all be built on the foundation that is first and foremost a relationship with Christ that consequently draws us into a relationship with the saints.
The Bible often refers to the universal church as the body of Christ, and we are all parts of that body (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) meant to be connected to one another. We are the body of Christ and God calls us to be individually members of it. What matters most in church is community. We are built up to be a community of believers who love God, love one another and love the world.
