[The following is excerpted from the book, Gather: Getting to the Heart of Going to Church, Copyright © 2021 by M. Hopson Boutot. Click here to download the entire book for free.]  

One of my favorite passages about the local church is Acts 2:42-47. Here we see the early church in action, loving one another, serving one another, and growing rapidly as they witness to the nations around them. Look at this passage with me:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Notice the influence this church was having to those around them. They were “having favor with all the people.” People around Jerusalem started taking notice. Something special was happening here. But let me ask you, would anyone have noticed if the church never gathered? In the simple act of gathering, God’s people are a witness to the nations.

Alan Noble writes, “The greatest witness to the world will always be the body of Christ gathered to worship, which means that churches and denominations need to consider well what it means to bear witness in a distracted, secular age.”(1)  The truth is, our gatherings don’t make a lot of sense in today’s world. Perhaps this is especially true amid a global pandemic, when more than ever people are encouraged to “stay safe at home.” No matter what precautions churches may take, the world just doesn’t understand why anyone would take the risk to gather with so many people week after week. But when we’re faithful to gather we speak volumes to a confused and safety-obsessed world. Our actions scream the truth that Jesus and His people matter more than physical safety. Jesus and His people are worth it.

1.  Alan Noble, Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018), 120. Emphasis added.