Church: Six Functions of the Church
Why do God’s people meet together each week? Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to worship at home, read the Bible and listen to a sermon on TV or the internet? Through modern technology, everyone could listen to the best preachers in the world, every week! Wouldn’t that be better?
No, not really. Stay-at-home Christians are missing out on many important aspects of Christianity. One of the insights of Trinitarian theology is that God is a relational being, and he has made humans to be relational, too. We need relationships with one another. God wants to live with us forever; the church is one of the ways that God is preparing us for an eternity with him.
God gives his commands for our good. When we are young Christians, we may not understand why he commands certain things, and we need to obey even before we know all the reasons why. We just trust that God knows best. Some people attend church simply because that’s what Christians are expected to do. Hebrews 10:25 says we should not neglect meeting together.
Sometimes we don’t feel like attending. But we can’t go through life doing only the things we feel like doing — not if we follow Jesus. He did not seek to do his own will, but the Father’s. Sometimes that’s what it boils down to for us.
Many commands
Hebrews is not the only book that commands us to meet with one another. “Love one another,” Jesus tells his disciples (John 13:34). He is not referring to our duty to love all human beings. Rather, he is referring to the need for disciples to love other disciples. This is an identifying sign of those who are following Jesus (verse 35). Mutual love does not happen in accidental meetings at the grocery store. Jesus’ command assumes that his disciples will be meeting with one another regularly.
“Let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith,” Paul wrote (Galatians 6:10). To obey this command, we need to know who the family of believers is. We need to see them, and their needs.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). If we don’t see each other regularly, we won’t know what the burdens are, and we won’t help one another with them.
“If we walk in the light…we have fellowship with one another,” John wrote (1 John 1:7). John is talking about strong friendships, not casual acquaintances. Similarly, Paul wrote, “Welcome one another” (Romans 15:7). “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). Christians have responsibilities toward one another.
Throughout the New Testament, we see that the early Christians met with one another to worship together, to learn together, to share their lives with one another (for example, Acts 2:41-47). In as many places as he could, Paul raised up churches, rather than leaving scattered believers. They were eager to share their faith and enthusiasm with one another. This is the biblical pattern.
Some people complain that they don’t get anything out of the sermons. That may be true, but it’s not a good reason to stop attending. Such people need to change their perspective from “get” to “give.” We attend worship services not just to get, but also to give — to give worship to God and to encourage other members of the congregation.
Paul wrote, “Encourage one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). “Provoke one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). We are to be a source of positive words, talking about things that are true and lovely and of good report.
Why did God create the church? What purposes does it have? By learning some of the functions of the church, we can see how our weekly meetings serve various purposes as God prepares his children for an eternity with him and with one another.
Consider Jesus as an example. He regularly attended synagogue and regularly heard readings of Scripture that didn’t add anything to his understanding, but he went anyway, to worship. Maybe it was boring to an educated man like Paul, but he didn’t let that stop him, either.
Duty and desire
People who believe that Jesus has saved them from eternal death ought to be excited about it. They enjoy getting together with others to praise their Savior. Sometimes we have bad days and don’t feel like attending. But even if it is not our desire at the moment, it is still our duty. We can’t go through life doing only the things we feel like doing – not if we follow Jesus as our Lord. He did not seek to do his own will, but the Father’s. Sometimes that’s what it boils down to for us. When all else fails, the old saying goes, read the instructions – and the instructions tell us to attend.
But why? What is the church for? The church has many functions. To help bring out different aspects of the church’s work, some Christians have used a four- or five-fold scheme. For this article, I will use six categories.
1) Worship
People who believe that Jesus has rescued them from eternal death are thankful. They enjoy getting together with others to praise their Savior. Our relationship with God is both private and public, and we need both. The word worship is related to the word worth. We declare God’s worth when we worship him. We show that he is worth our time, our loyalty, and our love.
1 Peter 2:9 says that we are called to declare God’s praises. This is a public declaration, not a private one. Both Old and New Testaments show God’s people worshiping together, as a community.
Songs are usually part of worship. Songs express some of the emotion we have with God. Not everyone in the congregation has the same emotion at the same time, but we nevertheless sing together. “Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another” (Ephesians 5:19). We have to meet together to do this!
Worship includes more than expressing emotion. Our relationship with God also involves our minds. Some of our interaction with God comes in the form of prayer. As a gathered people of God, we speak to God.
God is not only love, but also truth. Worship has an emotional component and a factual component. We need truth in our worship services, and we find truth in the Word of God. The Bible is the basis for all that we do. Sermons must be based in that authority.
God’s truth affects our lives and hearts. We respond with our heart, mind, soul and strength. Sermons should help us understand how God’s truth affects how we live and how we think throughout the week, in the home and on the job.
Sermons need to be practical, relevant to real life. They need to be emotive, calling for a heart-felt response. Our worship includes listening to God’s Word, and responding to it with joy for the salvation he gives, and a desire to please him.
Some believers cannot attend services because of ill health. They are missing out — as most of them know. Although shut-in Christians may need to be served in physical ways, they are often able to serve others in emotional or spiritual ways. Even so, stay-at-home Christianity is an exception based on necessity. It is not what Jesus wants his able-bodied disciples to do.
2) Discipleship
Throughout the New Testament, we see leaders teaching others. This is part of the Christian lifestyle, part of the Great Commission. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul told Timothy, “What you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well” (2 Timothy 2:2).
Everyone is a learner, and everyone can teach. “Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16). Every Christian should be able to teach, to say something about our hope in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15). By working together, we help one another grow. Discipleship is often a mutual process, one member helping another.
Some discipleship occurs in a more organized way. Christ appoints people in his church for that very reason:
[Christ] granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
God provides leaders who help prepare others for their roles. The result is growth, maturity and unity. People who avoid church are not being the teachers that they should be, and are not the learners that we all need to be.
3) Helping others
The church is sometimes called a fellowship; it is a network of relationships. We all need to give and receive love. Fellowship means a lot more than talking to each other about sports, gossip and news. It means sharing lives, sharing emotions, bearing one another’s burdens, encouraging one another and helping those who have need.
It takes time to fulfill our Christian responsibilities. It takes time to serve others. It even takes time to find out what kinds of help they need. But if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord, our time is not our own. Jesus makes demands on our lives. He demands total commitment, not a pretend-Christianity.
Teaching and encouraging is helpful. But sometimes people need more than words. Christians show Christ’s love by doing what Jesus would do. Jesus took care of physical needs such as food and health. He gave his body and his life for us. The early church gave physical help, sharing what they had with needy people.
We should help people inside and outside the church: “Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Folks who isolate themselves from other believers are falling short in this aspect of Christianity.
God has placed each of us in the body “for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). He has given each of us abilities to help others. God has distributed his gifts – no one is self-sufficient – we need to help one another.
The Christian community also serves the world around us, not only in word, but also in deeds that go with those words. God did not just speak — he also took action. Actions can demonstrate God’s love in us, as we help the poor, offer comfort to the discouraged, or help victims of tragedies.
One of the most important of God’s commands is, “Love your neighbor” (Matthew 22:39). We want to be agents working for good in our neighborhoods and cultures. This can be done by individual Christians, and it can be done by Christian churches working together.
People who need practical help are often the most responsive to the gospel. But we give help with no attempt to get something in return. We help simply because God has given us some resources and has helped us see a need. Jesus fed and healed many people without any immediate appeal for them to become his disciples. He did it simply because he saw a need that he could fill.
4) Sharing the good news
Jesus commands us to preach the gospel to all the world. But many of us have been taught by our culture to keep our faith to ourselves, and we have been too happy to go along with that. But the gospel is one of the resources God has given us, and the world around us needs it.
When God wanted to send a message to people, he used people to do it. He sent his own Son to preach. Now he sends his children, people who are led by the Spirit, to give the message in a way that is appropriate in their culture. This can be done by individuals, and by churches. New Christians need a supportive environment.
We need to be active, willing and eager to share the faith. We need enthusiasm about the gospel, an enthusiasm that communicates at least something about Christianity to our neighbors. We need to think about how we might be Christian witnesses to people around us. Be prepared to tell people why we have faith in Christ (1 Peter 3:15). Learn about evangelism, apply what you learn, and encourage one another in doing it.
A hospital for sinners
I am not perfect, and you are not perfect. The church is not perfect. I am not here to criticize my own congregation, or our denomination – I am making an observation that applies to any church, in any nation. We are not as good as we’d like to be. We want to point people to a God of perfect love and righteousness, but we don’t always do it as well as we’d like.
We fail, individually and collectively, locally and globally. We would like to be a community in which God’s love shines so well that unbelievers will look in, will like what they see, and will want to be a part of our loving group. Sometimes we do well, and sometimes not.
For example, churches are often sources of hope and help for people in times of disaster. We are an organized group that believes in doing good, even when it’s not necessarily convenient for us to do so. Sometimes we do what is needed, but sometimes we don’t do it very well. Sometimes we live up to what we hope to be, but sometimes our efforts are a bit feeble, a few days late and a few dollars short.
There are hypocrites in the church, just as there are hypocrites outside of it. There are child abusers in the church, just as there are abusers outside of it. The church has thieves, murderers, cowards, and people who think too highly of themselves. And this is good – the church is where such people need to be. We need to invite all sinners into the church. (That’s everyone.) The church is a hospital for sinners.
Now, a hospital is designed to help people get better, and a church should help people become better morally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. But some patients respond to the treatment better than others do, and none of us ever get completely cured. But most of us improve enough that we can start helping others, and if we extend the analogy a bit further, that we can venture out of the hospital to seek people who are sick and let them know where they can get some help.
So we preach forgiveness, preach confession, and preach that we all need to be led by the Holy Spirit into paths of righteousness. We try to get our house in order, even while we invite people in who might make the house look bad. But even after years of being led by the Spirit, we are not completely cured.
The church has a tarnished history – starting with the churches in Jerusalem, Galatia, Corinth, Ephesus, and about every other place we can name. There were heresies, scandals, and strong disagreements in the church. Churches promoted the Crusades, the Inquisition, financial scandals, and sex scandals.
There have been a few bright spots, too, such as the elimination of gladiator games and slavery. The church has given society the concept of human value, of civil rights, of hospitals and schools. But sometimes there have also been people in the church who worked against these good things. Our history is a mixed bag, and our current situation is a mixed bag, no matter whether we look at the worldwide church, or one denomination, one congregation, or when we look at ourselves.
Each of us is a mixed bag, and we are not the people we’d like to be. We are not yet fully representative of what the kingdom of God will be. We are not as loving, not as righteous, not as helpful to others, not as spiritual as we want to be. We are not yet as much like Jesus as we would like to be. We are disappointed in ourselves, and in our churches, and I think there is some value in occasionally being disappointed.
There is a silver lining in the gloomy cloud: at least we know there’s a problem. We have a high standard, and we admit that there’s room for improvement. We do not look at ourselves, or at the church, and say, “We are exactly what we ought to be; we have reached all our goals.” No, we know it can be better, and it should be better, starting with us.
When we describe the church, we don’t want to give unrealistic expectations, that we are a perfect community of Christ-like people. No, we are a hospital for the sick, and members are at different stages of health. Not even the leaders are in perfect health. As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:23, “We…who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” We wait for the complete healing of not just our bodies, but also our minds and hearts. Jesus still needs to do a bit more work on this fixer-upper.
Is the church better than it was in the time of the apostles? In some respects yes, and in some, no. We want to do better; we do not want to simply accept the way things now are. We need some “holy discontent.” We have some disappointment, but we also have hope. We know that we could be better; we know that we will be.
Paul says it well in Philippians 3:12-16:
Not that I have already…reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus…. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
What have we done well? Let us hold fast to it.
Where do we need improvement? Let us press on toward the goal, in Christ.
Author: Joseph Tkach and Michael Morrison, updated 2025
