Doctrine and Practice of the Church

► Why do you go to church?

When people talk about going to church they mean going to the church building for a scheduled worship service.

Many people say they go to church to learn about God. Sometimes people who feel far from God go to church hoping to feel the presence of God. People who know God go to church hoping to experience His presence in worship. The church is about God. People should be able to experience the presence of God in the worship services of the church.

But the church is not a building, and it is not just the meetings for worship. The church is the group of believers who are committed together to be the church. So, when we talk about people seeing the church or coming into the church, we mean the group of believers. When we say the church is about God, we don’t mean only that the building and worship service are about God. The life that the group of committed believers has together is about God.