I have often heard and I say it myself, ‘The church is not the building - it’s the people!’ And yet most people use the word ‘church’ to refer to the building! Especially in our local context of 5 beautiful listed ancient buildings needing a lot of time and maintenance and funding to keep them going and to increase their usage.
But it is still true that the church is not the building, it is the people! The Bible bears this out – the word translated ‘church’ literally means a gathering – an assembly of people – whether they meet in an old building, a modern warehouse, a hall, a former cinema or even outside.
And yet our buildings are more than just somewhere convenient to gather.
With all our Mission Priorities, our underlying Priority is Pastoral Care. Clergy are still trained in ‘Theological and Pastoral Studies’. And many people still visit a church building in times of need. And it is to the church building that we often bring people, and from where we reach out to serve. Many people who don’t come to services still want to visit inside our church buildings. Many come to the social and other events, especially our coffee mornings, cream teas and lunches in our church buildings.
So the church is the people, not the building. But our buildings are very important in reaching and serving people. They point us to God in their soaring towers, steeples and pillars. Their windows and other images tell us about Jesus and His love for us by drawing us to God by His Holy Spirit.
So as we seek primarily to reach out in pastoral care to those around us, lets give thanks for our buildings that shelter us, encourage and challenge us, despite the time and money they seem to need. And lets always be ready to go out of our church doors to serve those around us, but also welcome and draw others into our churches, that all will learn about God’s love and come to know Him for themselves.
Timothy Wilson
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