Reimagining
Why We Gather
by Kathy Foor, Director of Women's Ministries
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25
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hen we look around and still see so many empty seats in our church services and events, it is easy to realize that it is indeed time to reimagine why we gather. Getting together doesn’t seem to be as much a priority as it once was for some, and while it is easy to be critical of those who have wandered away from the flock, those who are still uncomfortable going out and being with people, and those who just find it safer to watch church from the live stream than to be physically present with the body of Christ, that is not going to bring people back. The truth is, it is more convenient to watch our events from home. It is also safer to watch from home. And, while I am grateful myself for the times when I have had to quarantine that I could still attend services or conferences online from home, is it really the same? Is it really what the writer of Hebrews intended when he penned the verses above? Hebrews tells us that our gathering is important so that we can spur one another on and so that we can encourage one another. While we can get some great teaching online, or listen to some great worship 10 July/August 2022
music, this format makes it very easy for us to feel like we are gathering when that is not really what is going on at all. It is easy to watch online without really participating, but Kingdom life was never meant to be a spectator sport. We were created for community. From beginning to end the Bible is about relationships, and whether we agree or not, whether we like it or not, God’s Kingdom is not a kingdom of isolated souls, but a family that needs one another. Perhaps that is why in this last season the enemy fought so hard to prevent us from gathering. He understands that we are stronger together. We function better together. Like you cannot have a symphony without every instrument represented, the kingdom of God doesn’t work well if people are missing. “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” Romans 12:4-5. We belong to one another. We need one another. We are incomplete without everyone participating. A
