Foundations | Essential Practices of a Growing Christian Life | Session 5
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When we hear the word church, we may immediately think of a building, a Sunday worship service, or even a denomination. But the New Testament gives us a richer and more specific picture. Before we can understand what it means to be involved in the church, we first need to understand what the church actually is.
In this first session on Church Involvement, we look at the biblical meaning of church, how the word is used throughout Scripture, and why the local church matters in the life of every believer.
What Does “Church” Mean?
The New Testament word translated church is the Greek word ekklesia. The word was already in use before the New Testament and referred to an organized assembly—a group of people who had been called together for a particular purpose. It can be translated as assembly, congregation, or church.
We see an example of its ordinary civic use in Acts 19:39, where a gathering in Ephesus is referred to as a “legal assembly.” In Greek cities, citizens could be called together as an ekklesia to conduct public business.
The concept also appears in connection with God’s people in the Old Testament. Acts 7:38 refers to Israel as the “assembly in the wilderness.” In Deuteronomy 4:10, God tells Moses, “Assemble the people before me,” so they could hear His words, learn to fear Him, and teach their children. The Psalms likewise speak of worship among God’s assembled people:
Psalm 22:25 says, “I will give praise in the great assembly because of you,” while Psalm 149:1 commands, “Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.”
From the beginning, then, the idea of an assembly involves more than simply being in the same place. God calls a people together for His purposes.
Jesus Builds His Church
The New Testament takes ekklesia and applies it specifically to the redeemed people of God.
Jesus declares in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” In Matthew 18:17, Jesus speaks of bringing matters of accountability before “the church.” Paul later describes how he once “persecuted God’s church” (Galatians 1:13) and explains that God has placed different gifts and responsibilities within the church (1 Corinthians 12:28).
Most importantly, the church belongs to Christ and exists under His authority. Ephesians 1:22 tells us that God “appointed him as head over everything for the church.” And according to Ephesians 3:10, God has chosen to make His “multi-faceted wisdom” known through the church.
The church, therefore, is not a human invention or merely a religious organization. Christ is building His church, Christ is the head of His church, and Christ accomplishes His purposes through His church.
The Universal Church and the Local Church
Scripture speaks about the church in several ways.
There is a universal sense in which the church consists of all genuine believers—those who have died in Christ, those who are alive today, and those who will one day believe. Ephesians 5:25–27 describes Christ loving the church and giving Himself for her so that He might ultimately present her to Himself “holy and blameless.” Hebrews 12:22–23 similarly describes “the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven.”
But the New Testament also repeatedly presents the church as a visible, local congregation of believers.
In Acts 9:31, Luke speaks collectively of “the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.” Elsewhere, churches are identified with particular cities and communities—Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, Cenchreae, and others.
The earliest Christians didn’t need elaborate church buildings in order to be the church. Acts 2:46 describes believers meeting together in the temple and breaking bread “from house to house.” Acts 8:1–3 tells us that when Saul persecuted the church in Jerusalem, he went from house to house arresting believers. And in Acts 20:17, 20–21, Paul reminds the Ephesian elders that his ministry among them took place both publicly and from house to house.
The New Testament even explicitly calls these gatherings in homes churches.
In Romans 16:3–5, Paul greets Prisca and Aquila and “the church that meets in their home.” 1 Corinthians 16:19 again mentions “the church that meets in their home.” Colossians 4:15–16 refers to Nympha and “the church in her home,” while Romans 16:23 mentions Gaius as a host to Paul and “the whole church.”
The setting could change. The size could change. But the principle remained: believers gathered together as a local body under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
We Are Living Stones, Not Spectators
That understanding changes how we think about our own relationship to the church.
Church involvement is not merely about attending an event once a week. Scripture pictures believers as people who are being joined together into something larger than themselves.
1 Peter 2:1–5 calls Jesus the “living stone” and then says of believers:
“You yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood.”
A stone by itself is simply a stone. But when stones are intentionally placed together, they become part of a structure. Peter’s picture of the Christian life is not one of isolated believers following Jesus independently. We are living stones being built together into a spiritual house.
Paul gives us another picture in Ephesians 4:11–16: the church as the body of Christ.
God gives leaders to the church for “equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ.” The goal is maturity—believers growing together in faith, knowledge, truth, and love until they increasingly reflect Christ. Paul concludes by describing the whole body as “fitted and knit together,” growing as each individual part does its work.
That means every believer has a place and a purpose within the body. Church involvement is not simply about asking, What can this church do for me? It also means asking, Where has God placed me, and how can I contribute to the building up of His body?
Christ Loves the Church—and So Should We
Perhaps one of the strongest reasons to value the church is found in Ephesians 5:25–27:
“Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.”
Jesus’ commitment to His church went all the way to the cross. His purpose is to sanctify His people and ultimately present the church to Himself “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle…holy and blameless.”
The church is imperfect because it is made up of imperfect people. Yet it remains precious to Christ.
So biblical church involvement is much more than having our name associated with a congregation. It means recognizing that Jesus has called His people together into a body, placed us under His headship, and given each of us a role in helping that body grow.
The local church is where believers gather, worship, learn God’s Word, serve one another, exercise their gifts, experience accountability, and grow together toward maturity in Christ.
We aren’t simply people who go to church.
In Christ, we are being built together as the church.
