In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said: "I will build my church..."
When most people hear the word "church" they immediately think of a building or location. We say things like "Do you go to church" or "Are you going to church?" We tend to equate church to a place.
The English word "church" evolved from the German word "Kirche' which means church as a location or institution. The word Jesus used in the Greek is the word "Ekklesia" which literally means "called out ones" or "called out assembly and congregation." Jesus did not have in mind a building or location, but a people.
Here is the point. When Jesus said He was going to build His church, he meant He was going to start a movement. He invites all people to come belong to His church, but He also expects those same people to go out and be the church!
If you only go to church you are missing the main things Jesus intended for His people. #1, you miss out on vital, deep life giving relationships. Our relationship with God is meant to be shared with other believers. We are told numerous times to practice what Scripture calls the "one anothers." For example, we are to love one another, pray for one another, care for one another, share with one another, and so on. Its impossible to practice and grow in the one anothers if you only "go to church."#2,
you miss out on what you were re-created by God for, and that is to have impact on the lives of people who do not know Jesus. We are to help the broken, the lost, the lonely and the hopeless to find Who they are looking for and Who is the answer to their questions. If I only "go to church" I am missing out on being the church. People who only go to church get bored with church. There is no amount of great preaching, worship, lazer shows, or cool videos that will keep you from getting bored. BEING the church is the answer to our restlessness and our fickle attitudes towards church.
Remember you don't go to church, you belong to the church. You don't go to church you are to be the church.
