When You Come Together
What makes a church service, a church service? To answer simply, there is no one answer across Christian denominations. If we are seeking to understand what precisely defines that special, vitally important meeting of Christians which some call Sunday morning church, some Mass, and others the Divine Liturgy, Christians do not agree. If you are Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican, the Eucharist is a key portion of the service’s liturgy, and the service cannot be Mass or the Divine Liturgy or church without it. On the other hand, some Protestant churches regularly have church services, but only partake in the Lord’s Supper intermittently. For these denominations, it is the preaching and teaching of the Word that defines their coming together. Finally, some charismatic traditions require neither Communion nor preaching (though, if desired, both could be performed in the service): a group gathered together singing a joyful noise unto the Lord is the defining act of worship.
Despite these variations, I believe we may pin down certain commonalities that Scripture indicates to define a church service, as Christians currently experience it.
First and foremost, a church service is only possible when and where the Earthly church, the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12), is gathered together. Matthew 18:20 indicates that whenever two or more believers gather together in His name, God is there with them. The existence of books of the Bible centered around Paul’s letters to groups of believers in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Colossae, Philippi, and Thessalonica points clearly to an understanding that the church is not one man alone, it is many gathered together.
To be clear, a church service needs the church, but the church gathering together does not necessitate the performance of a church service. But why does a church service need a gathering of the body of Christ? For there to be a church and, consequently, for there to be a church service, there must be, in a given gathering of believers, at least the possibility of a lasting community built to seek Christ through mutual encouragement to faith and works. Galatians 6, Ephesians 4, and Colossians 3 all speak to Christians’ need for bonds centered around these things, and Ephesians 2:18-21 speaks to a picture of the church composed of believers across time. If a group of believers is coming together only temporarily or as only a subsection of the church (Christian conferences, retreats, and college ministries being examples of this), they do not reflect that necessary aspect of the church.
Secondly, the purpose of the church coming together helps define a church service. For the gathering of believers I have outlined above to be considered a church service, its purpose should be for worship and for teaching. Acts 2:42, Ephesians 5:19, and Hebrews 12:28 all indicate that the purpose of the church coming together is for mutual support in seeking Christ through teaching, fellowship, prayer, singing, and reverence of the Lord. These purposes of worship and teaching can be fulfilled in a multitude of ways and need not only be reflected in the singing of hymns and the preaching of a sermon or homily. For example, a church service in the charismatic tradition, such as one composed only of singing, can be an opportunity for both worship and teaching depending on one’s approach to the singing and the lyrics one encounters in worship.
As an aside, I do want to recognize verses such as 1 Peter 5 and 1 Timothy 3 which indicate the necessity of members of the church being in a position of authority within the church and, consequentially, within the church service as well. However, as authority is primarily a feature of the church and not the church service, I did not include it in my definition.
Finally, a church service is defined by the fact that it is the appropriate place to hold the sacraments, specifically the Eucharist. The sacraments are so important to the church service because they are Christians’ tie to God’s grace. How they tie to God’s grace differs between denominations, but it is grace that makes the sacraments key to the definition I am proposing. And the Lord’s Supper is of particular importance because the Bible speaks so specifically to its performance. This we see reflected in the Last Supper passages found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 1 Corinthians. Jesus gathered together the apostles, who came from varied backgrounds and with varied gifts, to participate in his sacrifice on the cross (though again, this participation’s definition varies amongst believers) and to prepare them to work to give form to the church on earth. Verses such as 1 Corinthians 11:20-34 make clear that the Lord’s Supper is something to be done when believers come together to engage in all the activities laid out in Acts 2:42, Ephesians 5:19, Hebrews 12:28, and more. Thus, it is not appropriate to hold the celebration of the Last Supper alone; it must be done with other believers, for this is how we see it done in the Bible. Specifically, it is a gathering of believers that is created with the hope of building a community of faith, worship, and works that is the appropriate place for the celebration of Communion and which comprises a church service.
Thus, though there will never be one prescriptive form which all church services must conform to, we may understand that, despite all the differences, every Christian is called to participate in these special liturgies of worship and teaching with one another.