Stop constructing new church buildings!

[Christian Prepper]

We need to be more efficient in handling the resources that God has given us, both individually and corporately within the body of Christ. It is not right to spend millions of dollars on new buildings and the maintenance of old ones when there are millions of people dying for lack of food and clean water. The solution is to use what we have more efficiently. First, let us drop our divisive denominational labels that separate the body of Christ along minor issues. I am not advocating the ecumenical movement, but rather the coming together of true believers based on the simplicity of the gospel. If this were not a possibility, then would Jesus had prayed it as recorded in John 17:20, 21, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as your are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Also, in John 17:23, “may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” Shall we disregard our Lord’s prayer, or should we honor Him and work towards what He desired? We don’t need more church buildings, but rather much less. Here’s why.


We only need one building per city, not the many. Worship services could be held 7 days per week instead of just on Sundays and many programs to reach the lost and the hurting could operate out of that building staffed by volunteers who finally would have opportunities to use their atrophying spiritual gifts. Nowhere in the bible does it say to worship God only on Sunday. In fact the early church pattern was to meet daily, Acts 2:46. Those who have the gift of teaching and preaching could deliver the sermon, or one of a million that exists on the internet could be broadcast. We do not need paid pastors to deliver any more sermons. There are plenty of great sermons around already. I was listening to a bible teaching program and they talked about 3000 sermons available from that particular teacher, who is excellent by the way. If there were 1000 more like him in the world, then we already have access to 3 million sermons, more than we can listen to in a lifetime. We do however, need more unity, holiness, and involvement in the lives of others. This does not come from the worship service anyways, but rather from time spent alone with God and frequent interactions with other believers in building each other up. This can be best accomplished, in my opinion, by living in community with one another, sharing resources and our daily lives. The huge savings by implementing this approach could be used for evangelical and life saving purposes rather than the upkeep of buildings which are infrequently used.

More church buildings with different denominational labels just confuses the lost world. They might say, I thought they were all Christians, (followers of Christ), but I see a; Lutheran church over here, and a Mennonite church over there, how many types of Christians are there, and which is the right one? What has the church become? It is a far cry from the pattern of its inception, but has evolved over two thousand years into what it is today. I am not saying that it has been all bad, but it is not as efficient or effective as it could be. I recognize that Christians are imperfect as I myself am, but that does not justify not seeking ways to make it more the way Jesus would have it, much of which could be determined from Revelation 2 and 3 where Jesus is inspecting His church and pointing out their shortcomings. He didn’t say, Oh well, you did your best, after all you’re not perfect, but He said to repent and to overcome. Likewise the apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 13:11, said, “Aim for perfection”. We may not hit the mark, but we should always strive to come as close as possible. Just because something has been done for many years does not mean that it is right or best and can not be improved.

Comments?

 

[HereIStand]

Good points. I like the idea of daily church services. And too many churches stretch themselves too thin with mortgage expenses.

 

[Cat Loaf You]

Well if you really wanted to study word of God you could just borrow place for 2 hours a week and gather there to worship and study , but people build churches because they need scene to play "christian theater " rather than worship and it's all because of prosperity gospel and it's not going away anytime soon .

 

[Kenny'sID]

Worship services could be held 7 days per week instead of just on Sundays

Hey Adventers, better call dibs on Saturday before it's too late.

 

[Kenny'sID]

And what about Copland, Dollar, and Hinn? Do you really think they will quietly give up their livelihood, jet plane and whatnot?

Entirely too many selfish people out there where their money/denomination is more important that the proposed plan/good of all..or way of Christ. And that's not to say the plan isn't a good one, but it just won't happen.

 

[Saucy]

There's nothing wrong with building churches. They often serve multiple important functions within the community, a lot of those functions being that they serve the needy there.

 

[Archivist]

We added on and doubled the size of my church a number of years ago. A majority of the addition was used to provide space for a community food pantry that had outgrown its existing space at another location. None of the addition was used for additional sanctuary space.

 

[Christian Prepper]

There's nothing wrong with building churches. They often serve multiple important functions within the community, a lot of those functions being that they serve the needy there.

Yes, I agree that the church building should be used to serve the needy, but my point is that one building per city is more economically efficient than the many. The money saved using this method could be used for increased evangelism and saving lives in the poor countries. Using God's resources in the most efficient and effective manner to accomplish His will should be our prime directive.

 

[Saucy]

But you're trying to tell people what His will is. He gave you a mission, but what you think we should all do doesn't add up to God's will for everyone else. You can't have a single one-size-fits-all church in every community.

 

[Archivist]

Yes, I agree that the church building should be used to serve the needy, but my point is that one building per city is more economically efficient than the many. The money saved using this method could be used for increased evangelism and saving lives in the poor countries. Using God's resources in the most efficient and effective manner to accomplish His will should be our prime directive.

But if every city is only to have one church building, how do you allocate space. As I said, we use a sizable part of our church building to house the food bank because we have made that our mission, but what if a majority of the churches using a single building see a homeless shelter or shelter for abused women as a higher priority. There is only so much room in a building.

 

[seeking.IAM]

That one church in New York City is going to get pretty crowded on Easter morning. Ya better go early if you're going to get a seat.

 

[Christian Prepper]

But you're trying to tell people what His will is. He gave you a mission, but what you think we should all do doesn't add up to God's will for everyone else. You can't have a single one-size-fits-all church in every community.

Tell that to the first century church. When the apostle Paul wrote to the churches, it was to the church at, "a specific location", and not to the Baptist church at Rome, then the Lutheran church at Rome, then the Prysbyterian church at Rome, etc.. The early church model was one united Christ following church. Remember the Lord's prayer in John 17, "that they all may be one, Father, as we are one". That is His will. I admit that denominationalism started early, but the apostle Paul addressed that in 1 Corinthians saying that the body of Christ should not divide by following men. When you said you can't have a single one-size-fits all church, you hit the nail on the head by stating the crux of the problem. The only reason we can't is because it wouldn't fit into man's agenda. I can hear the grumbling now, "we want different music, we want the pastor to do more hospital visits, we want plusher pews". Man wants to seek the things that satisfy himself. We are to humble ourselves and seek what is His will and as stated above, it is to be one. Man must drop his agenda in favor of God's.

 

[Christian Prepper]

But if every city is only to have one church building, how do you allocate space. As I said, we use a sizable part of our church building to house the food bank because we have made that our mission, but what if a majority of the churches using a single building see a homeless shelter or shelter for abused women as a higher priority. There is only so much room in a building.

The proposed building would certainly be larger than the average church building to accomodate many ministries. The worship area wouldn't have to be much larger since worship services would be spread out over seven days. Think of this; if 10,000 people attended over seven days having 20 worship services, you would need seating of only 500. If each person gave to the church just $2-$5 per week, 1-2.5 million dollars would be collected over the year. That would be plenty to fund the ministries of that church.

 

[Archivist]

The proposed building would certainly be larger than the average church building to accomodate many ministries. The worship area wouldn't have to be much larger since worship services would be spread out over seven days. Think of this; if 10,000 people attended over seven days having 20 worship services, you would need seating of only 500. If each person gave to the church just $2-$5 per week, 1-2.5 million dollars would be collected over the year. That would be plenty to fund the ministries of that church.

And as I said, buildings can only be so big.

Will you be the one telling specific groups that they will be unable to have a service on Easter Sunday or Christmas Eve?

 

[Doug Melven]

Man wants to seek the things that satisfy himself. We are to humble ourselves and seek what is His will and as stated above, it is to be one. Man must drop his agenda in favor of God's.

It is not just about the the color of the carpet or whether chairs or pews are used or the type of music played.
There are wide doctrinal differences.
And I am not just thinking about Tongues and Healing but about different doctrines concerning how to get saved/stay saved.
There is this fellow Francis Chan. I do not believe everything he believes, but he does have some good ideas about house churches.
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/07/04/francis-chan-christian-discipleship-house-churches/

 

[FireDragon76]

The early church was not very big at all, just a small fraction of the population.

 

[Arcangl86]

The Early church was much smaller then

It is not just about the the color of the carpet or whether chairs or pews are used or the type of music played.
There are wide doctrinal differences.
And I am not just thinking about Tongues and Healing but about different doctrines concerning how to get saved/stay saved.
There is this fellow Francis Chan. I do not believe everything he believes, but he does have some good ideas about house churches.
Francis Chan, Christian Discipleship, and House Churches - CultureWatch

And even some of the things that might outwardly seem about aesthetics can be deeply theological. Like try telling the Orthodox to worship without icons.

 

[Dave-W]

That one church in New York City is going to get pretty crowded on Easter morning. Ya better go early if you're going to get a seat.

Yeah - like Labor Day.

 

[PollyJetix]

There is no biblical command to build a church building. In the Old Testament, the rituals prescribed by God for animal sacrifice, etc., required a specially-constructed building.
But in the New Testament, the recurring theme is that the people of the church are the building that God inhabits. No longer do we worship "here or there" (as the woman of Samaria inquired of Christ) but rather it is "in spirit and in truth". John 4:21-24

There is much in the New Testament concerning giving to the poor. I see today's churches dedicated more to constructing and maintaining buildings, than they are to relieving the suffering of poor people.
Can you imagine the impact we could have on the world, if we were to funnel all that money into giving people a "hand up"? ... houses for the homeless... free child care for single mothers... places of peace and comfort for the mentally ill?

We don't need to worship in huge collective groups. Not on a regular basis. The early church in Jerusalem numbered in the thousands, and met in small groups in homes. Which is a far better environment for winning the lost and finding real fellowship, anyhow.

Occasionally, they met in the Temple, but that was constricted by persecution very quickly.
There are very large public places that can be used for occasional large gatherings. Public parks. Arenas. All kinds of places.

We need to start thinking outside the box.
My cousin is pastor of a church in Manhattan, with an emphasis on reaching Muslims and Hispanics.
About 2 or 3 years ago, they sold the church, and reorganized into home-based small churches. It works much better to reach the lost. A Muslim who would never darken the doors of a church building will much easier be lured to a home group meeting. And that goes for any lost soul.

 

[PollyJetix]

The early church was not very big at all, just a small fraction of the population.

Um... according to Acts 2:41, on the Day of Pentecost, 3000 souls were added to the church.
They had no building, and the Holy Ghost never told them to build one.