The church There are lots of different things that people think about when we talk about 'The church'. Mostly it's a big old building with a steeple and lots of old people, slow hymns and long boring speeches. But this isn't what church really is. For us church is a pleasure to go to. A lot of churches now have more modern worship music and a lot of youth activities like weekends away and youth clubs with shorter, more 'down to earth' talks about God. A common question asked is do we have to go to church? Well if you really like a band you try to go to all the gigs and concerts. You don't have to. It's like that with Christians. We don't have to go to church but we want to. We love to sing praises to God and thank him for everything he's done. For us God is the newest, greatest thing! It's a privilege to go to church and learn more about God. In the bible it tells us what a church should be like. It says that the church should be like a community (A group of people who belong together, who have a common purpose) We know that God takes care of the church. The church is told that they should preach the gospel, make disciples, baptise them and teach them. We are told to go out to all nations. To be part of the church we need to have faith and obedience. The church hasn't always been around. In fact the new testament church was created about 2000 years ago. There were 2 important things which started the church off. These are: 1) The resurrection appearances of Jesus 2) The day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to all the believers to equip them for ministry. The early church was mainly made up of Jews, but the Holy Spirit made it clear that the gentiles were to be included. The church has many characteristics these include: 1) A flock (of sheep) 2) A body 3) A nation (of people) 4) A priesthood 5) A temple (of God) 6) A house 7) A bride 8) A vine (of grapes) 9) A family 10) An army The church is likened to a body of Christ. Christ is the head of the body and also the church. All directions should come from him and the church should be obedient to him. Christ is the source of the churches life and fullness and holds everything together. All parts of the body are needed. And we should not make the mistake of thinking certain parts are more important than others. Every member of the church is needed. And has a role to play. But every part is different. So different members have different roles to play. The church is a unity but not uniform (but not all parts are the same) The church is also called the bride of Christ. This shows a strong love relationship between Christ and the church this helps us to know that we should please God. The church is pictured as a building. The church is being built upon foundations of Christ, and Christ is also the cornerstone that holds the whole building together. The church is a spiritual building, a place where God lives by his spirit.