What does God say about church?
People often have mixed ideas about church. Some people have had great experiences at church, but others have had horrible experiences. Unfortunately churches can sometime drift far from what God intended them to be. What did God intend church to be? The church, in a universal sense, is made up of every person who trusts in Jesus for salvation. But in a local sense, it is a group of believers who join together in a certain location to form a congregation. God did not intend for His people to live alone. He intended for believers to meet together as a church for the following reasons.
To worship together
It is pleasing to God when His people worship Him together through prayer and praise.
Romans 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To grow together
God wants His people to edify and encourage each other to grow as believers.
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
To work together
The mission of believers on earth is to spread the gospel message as God’s witnesses.
Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.