church
what's it all about?
what is church?
"if all the people who fell asleep in church on sunday morning were laid out end to end... they would be a great deal more comfortable." (abraham lincoln)what springs to mind when you hear the word church? hard pews, boredom, a building, strange rituals, a sunday morning service, a vicar or minister, a denomination (methodist, anglican), a once a year thing, weddings and funerals? the biblical picture of a church is very different.
for a more detailed look at church and why Christians think it is so important, we recommend chapter 14 of the book "alpha: questions of life" by nicky gumbel from which some of the material on these pages is adapted.
the bible talks about church in over 100 different ways in the new testament of the bible. 5 of these - the people of God (including baptism), the family of God, the body of Christ, the temple of God (including holy communion) and the bride of Christ - are looked at on the next few pages.
ways to be church
church meetings are of 3 main types, the large (celebration), medium (congregation) and small (cell).the "celebration" is a large gathering of Christians, often when many different groups of Christians come together at national or more local events. these large gatherings can provide inspiration, restore confidence, provide a visible presence in the community and help us to remember that we are not alone. however, they are not enough on their own...
the "congregation" is a medium sized gathering, such as the membership of a particular local church who meet together weekly. these size groups are ones where lasting Christian friendships can be made, as well as being a place where people's gifts and experiences can be shared in an atmosphere of love and acceptance. they are also a place of learning and personal development.
the "cell" or "small group" which consists of a small number of people who meet together to study the bible and pray. these groups allow the closest friendships, as well as being places where we can speak openly, exercise accountability to each other and talk about the things that matter most to us.
all three of these types of gathering are important and as Christians it is important to try and make sure we are getting all of these in varying amounts.
thg, fhg are "cells", whilst eleven is more of a "congregation" (although still cell-sized at the moment). alive and kicking falls somewhere between being several "cells" and being a "congregation" although it cannot yet provide everything that a "congregation" should. events such as breakout are "celebrations".
to really be part of a "congregation" group we would encourage everybody to consider finding a local church to be part of (see the links page for some of the local churches).
details of local churches are available.