Some people say that church services (and how we behave in them) are not important. They say that what matters is not church meetings, but what believers do in everyday life (being the church in society). 

However, there are three problems with this view: 1) The New Testament instructs believers not to give up meeting together; 2) It also tells believers to minister to one another when we meet together (see 1 Corinthians 14:26); and 3) When we are trained to be passive spectators about our faith in church services, we will be passive spectators about our faith in everyday life.

Let me say that again:  If church meetings continually train people to just sit back and be passive about their faith during church meetings, people will learn to just sit back and be passive about their faith during daily life.

However, if church services would begin to train people to actively stand up and boldly proclaim and demonstrate their faith during church meetings, people would actively stand up and boldly proclaim and demonstrate their faith during everyday life.

Just as a magnifying glass bends many rays of light to one point, releasing so much intensity that it can start a fire; in the same way, Spirit-led, participatory church that actively involves everyday believers; focuses many hearts on the living, resurrected Jesus Christ, to the point of igniting life-transforming spiritual fire in the meeting.

Through out the New Testament we are commanded to minister to one another in various ways. So perhaps, our focus in church meetings should not be on just passively sitting and receiving ministry, but on listening to God, hearing how He wants us to minister to others, and then taking obedient action. (Not on “being fed” but on feeding others.)

Experience participatory church every Sunday morning at 10:45 at The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37207.