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By Dennis Rowan
January 2005

"...'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' (Matthew 25:34-36, NIV)

For more than 60 years I have been exposed to church congregations in America. I accepted Jesus at the age of eight, but I was past 30 years of age before I learned that a church was a body of believers and not a building. I have spent considerable time during the past 15-20 years trying to learn why Christians in America seem to have so little influence on the culture. I really feel like the Holy Spirit has shown me that, for beginners, we need to focus on the fact that church has to do with a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and not a physical place that we go to once, twice or perhaps three times a week.

I realize that some will think it is a matter of semantics as to what is meant by the word "church", and that it is not important to labor over the definition. However, my own experience was one where I had a lot of wrong ideas about church and the improper definition contributed to the confusion. Today, I have keen ears when people use the word "church", and also when people use the word "ministry."

Let me give some examples of how people use the words church and ministry, and why I think it can be misleading, especially to young children and new believers.

While that could very well be true, the obvious implication here is that the act of attending a meeting in a building equates to godliness. My point is that an impressionable youngster may get the idea that attending the meetings gains favor with his parents, his pastor and God. So much emphasis on "God's house" can also give the impression that you do God things in God's house and you do other things outside of His house. I'm speaking from personal experience for sure, but I see that attitude in others too, among both young and old.

First of all, one man can't be all things to all people and be gifted at so many things. However, since these people are usually paid by the people in the congregation, there is a mentality that says, "He gets paid for it, so he should do all these things." So often there are real lost opportunities for people gifted by God to be used to minister even though they are not paid clergy. The implied gap between the professional clergy and the lay people is not healthy.

I was once part of a congregation when a young family of three in that group lost their house and all their belongings in a fire. While is was mentioned during a church service, the pastor made no mention of helping the family with a donation from church funds, nor did he take an offering for them. Frankly, I saw a serious disconnect between church and ministry.

I was in another congregation once when someone asked that we pray for a certain man because he wasn't in church that morning, and yet he was so faithful to attend each week. Perhaps he was sick, they implied. While no one said a thing, the man was actually gone on a foreign mission trip to help people in need. Seems a little odd that the congregation did not know about this important ministry trip by one of their very own. Another disconnect in my opinion.

Both of the congregations I mention here had beautiful meeting houses that were about five years old at the time. I could easily give other similar examples of things I observed in other congregations. My point is that congregations are often turned so inward that they cannot see outward, and the church leaders are largely responsible. I am convinced people will go where they are lead. I think most churches strive to get more people in the church building. Their idea of success is filling the space in the building with people. That's fine to fill the building, but it gives the impression that ministry doesn't happen until the lost and the hurting "come to church" to hear the anointed speaker. I don't find that church growth principle explained in the Bible.

When the church comes first, then the focus tends to stay on the building and the people in that building. I think most church congregations in America started with a few people in a Bible study, or by one church congregation (and building) infusing money into another congregation (and building) to plant a new church. The focus has been to get people to come to a church building so they can receive the benefits of ministry.

My experience may be limited, but my association with missionaries plus my visits to three foreign countries showed me that ministry can come first, and then perhaps a church congregation will come later. I was really impressed with my earlier visits to ministries in Third World countries. I noticed that missionaries fed the hungry, assisted with medical care, and established Christian schools. They often do this before a church congregation is established. I cite two vivid examples of this model in Central America.

An earthquake that killed thousands of people in Guatemala in the 1970's prompted a small group of people from California to go to that country and help the victims. One thing they did immediately was to build dozens, perhaps hundreds of small homes to replace those lost in the earthquake. Their ministry began as a helping hand to those in need. Out of that evolved a church organization that soon became established in every Spanish speaking country in the world. In my mind that is the full gospel, ministering to peoples needs outside a church building, and then developing teaching, preaching, and worship in an organized way afterwards.

In a second example, Alvin Anderson, a missionary in Central America use to travel through Tegucigalpa, Honduras during his trips to and from the United States. He saw a clear need for ministry to young homeless teens on the streets. Years later Alvin and his wife Nelly moved to Tegucigalpa and began ministering to the needs of those young people. Their ministry began with simple things like giving coffee and sweet roles to those teens on the streets. Later they would keep some teens in their home. Still later they would provide vocational training. During the time they ministered to the physical needs of these people with their unquestioned love they also shared the Word of God with these hurting people.

In less than 10 years the Anderson's impact has been enormous. A former thief and his wife (a former street kid) now pastor a church the Anderson's helped start. A ministry to juveniles in jail is accomplished by some who were gang members before they got saved. At least three former gang members who became Christians have been killed because they were converted. They accepted Jesus Christ knowing they would be targeted for two reasons: for leaving the gang and for accepting Christ. Why would people in such a circumstance convert to Christianity? They saw the Gospel clearly, that's why! Note that this was ministry in a building, but it was a jail, not a church building.

The important point here is that ministry preceded any building for a meeting place. In fact the ministry of the Anderson's includes two day care centers for young children, a prison ministry in several places throughout the country, weekly visiting/ministering to the homeless on the street, and vocational training. That is a lot of ministry when you consider that the nearest thing to a church building is a rented space in the gang infested part of town. The day care centers include serving food about four days a week. Ministering God's Word in those day care centers is a part of the program. These buildings were constructed to minister to people's immediate physical needs. They are evolving into places of worship as well.

I like what I call the Third World Model, or the Foreign Mission Model. First you minister, then if a congregation forms from that, fine. If not, what's to loose by sharing God's love in deed and in His Word. The Anderson's' ministered for about eight years before they formed a congregation. Frankly, I think American Christians can learn from the Third World Model. After we learn, then what? Where do we place our priority, with church or with ministry? Do we prefer to "be part of the church" every day of the week(see Scripture at top of page) or are we satisfied just to "go to church" three times a week?