What is the church, and what is it for?
The church is a group of persons who have united hearts and hands to serve the Lord of the church, Jesus Christ. Sometimes the church is pictured as the body of Jesus Christ with Jesus as the head. It is a simple picture that reminds us that ultimately our task as a church is to glorify Christ, which is to do Christ’s will in the world by our words and actions.
How can I become a part of the church?
For most persons, becoming a part of the church is a process of several steps. Most start by attending a church group of some kind. It may be a church service, but it might also be a Bible Study group, or just a group of friends or co-workers that we share with about faith. Most persons find a heart felt need to understand God and discover God’s plan for their lives, and this need often directs us to those whom God has ‘planted’ in our lives to be a witness of God’s love and strength.
Once we get past this step, we are challenged to make our own personal commitment as disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus isn’t looking for perfect persons: just persons who are willing to trust Jesus and follow Him. This step usually involves our coming to grips with several commonalities:
- We recognize our need for a Savior. No matter how hard we try, we realize that we fail to do the right thing in many circumstances. This usually leads to a load of guilt and a genuine need for forgiveness with God and others.
- We learn through the teachings of the church that Jesus became a human being, even though he was actually fully God, and lived His life to preach the good news, to restore hope to those burdened with problems, to release those who were captive of addictions and other failures, to restore vision to those who were blinded by false values and wantonness, and to teach a small band of men how to live a disciplined life of faith for God. In spite of the wide reception of his teachings and the wonderful works that Jesus did, He was betrayed into the hands of enemies and cruelly killed on a Roman cross. Only later did the disciples realize that this was God’s way of paying the penalty of sin for all of us: through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God (Jesus) once for all, all now had the hope of forgiveness. But wait: it didn’t end there! Three days later, Jesus broke the bonds of death and was resurrected, releasing the life-giving power to all who would believe.
- Having heard this amazing story of love, our next step is to accept what Christ has done for us by faith. This means we realize that God forgives all our sins! And then, to make it possible for us to live the life God desires from us, God’s Holy Spirit enters our lives to strengthen us, empower us, and teach us. And when we take this step of faith, we enter into a new relationship with God as his son or daughter by faith. What an amazing gift!
After we have taken these steps of faith, our next step is to declare our faith publicly. The church does this by receiving persons into a public relationship with the church as members of the body. And as a symbol of what God has done for each person by faith in Christ, we submit to a form of baptism, such as sprinkling or immersion. The form is not as important as the commitment of our hearts to trust Jesus and follow Him as Lord. Ultimately, baptism reminds us that God has saved us by raising us from the depths to new life in Christ. And at the same time, God cleanses our hearts and lives by the washing of water and the renewal of God’s Spirit within.
After this, the next steps are to grow in the knowledge and practice of our faith. Most Christians recognize a need to worship God weekly, to fellowship (receive and share support) with other Christians regularly, to have learning experience in the Word of God, to have opportunities to be involved in the mission of God, to experience the wonder of the glory of God, and to have the fullness of the joy of God that satisfies our lives. When one becomes a part of the journey, it is not about arriving at a destination, but rather about beginning of journey of faith with Christ traveling with us.
Is the church truly for everybody?
Absolutely! We are open to all persons, regardless of our faults or failures, or our past mistakes; regardless of age or race or background. And the church’s mission is to reach out to all persons with the hope and love and life of Jesus Christ. The one thing we hold in common is that we be true to Christ and His will.
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