The Church Is Not a Building

Now that we will definitely break ground and start work on a new building, it’s good to think about how the church is more than a building. When Salem's downtown building was destroyed in the flood of 2008, we knew that the church is not the building, it’s more than that. Likewise when we construct a new building, it’s good to acknowledge that the church is not the new building either. It’s more than that. Without a doubt, a building is a blessing, a gift, a tool. But the church is more than the building.

This is important because we’re going to grow. When we break ground and build a new building, we’re going to see new people. We live in a culture that likes new things. And a new “church” is no exception. New people will come and be a part of Salem. In fact, we’re working intentionally to reach out to new people so that they will become a part of this wonderful congregation. We’re going to grow.

Our goal, however is not just to have more people who are a part of Salem. Rather, our goal is to carry out our mission to make these new people (and ourselves!) disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. This isn’t a question of desire; of course, that’s what we want. It’s a question of strategy. Will we have a way to do this? That’s the issue of having a discipleship pathway, and we have a small group of people working on exactly that. It’s one of our Healthy Church Initiative prescriptions this year.

Most churches offer any number of programs and activities, but what if those programs and activities don’t actually help people mature in their faith and grow as disciples of Jesus? A significant church study (REVEAL) discovered that churches have put a lot of money into programs, thinking it would help people grow spiritually when, in reality, it hasn’t helped people that much.

REVEAL was born out of a Willow Creek Community Church research project in 2004 but it examined 1,000 churches representing a wide range of denominations, geographies, and sizes. The findings have been a “wake-up call” for church leaders. Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek, says:

“We learned the most effective strategy for moving people forward in their journey of faith is biblical engagement…helping them engage the Bible on their own outside of church.”

Very simply, spiritual growth occurs when we take responsibility for our own discipleship and practice the age old spiritual habits of prayer, Bible reading, and relationships. Therefore, we need a strategy for teaching new people at Salem how to read the Bible between worship services and how to do the spiritual practices on their own and in small groups.

This isn’t new for us. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, called these age old practices Works of Piety and Works of Mercy. Wesley's Works of Piety are practices that form us in the way of Jesus, such as reading the Bible; hearing Scripture read and sermons preached; receiving the Lord’s Supper; praying; fasting; coming together for conversation and mutual support; and living healthily. Works of Mercy are simply doing good to others, transforming the world.

John Wesley referred to these as "channels of grace” because they are practices that fill our lives with God’s grace and form us as disciples of Jesus Christ. If we do these things and teach others to do them, then we’ll be connecting people, building community, and transforming lives through Jesus. If we don’t, then maybe we’ll just have a nice building.