What is the Church when there is no building?

This question would be nonsense in many parts of the world for much of church history. It's like a gently lobbed softball to most missional church folk. But it's a question that many of us in more traditional churches had to seriously wrestle with for at least a few months during the Covid pandemic.

With the initial lockdown we were essentially evicted from our church buildings. (To me, that's not a statement regarding government overreach. At that point, it seemed most of us were united in doing what we could to slow the spread of the virus.) So we had to not only ask this question, but also answer it. Without judging anyone's hearts, you might have inferred from those digitally exporting church services from the stage of an empty worship center that their definition of church was "the one hour of programming that takes place on the stage every Sunday morning." From others you might have inferred that the definition of church is "one or more families watching a sermon together and discussing it." From still others you might have inferred that church is "a gathering of people who meet to encourage and pray for each other and find ways to serve the people around them." I don't say these things with any judgment. I think it's a fascinating experiment to ask what our Covid adaptations might suggest about our definition of "church."

As I'm writing this, it appears that most of us have inched back towards some version of a larger gathering. So here's my question now:

What have we learned (so far) in this season of being the church with limited use of our buildings?

Did any of us find life and inspiration from a simpler form of church gathering? Did any of us increase our focus on loving and serving our neighbors?

I don't want to suggest that modern church services are bad or unbiblical or ungodly. But I am convinced there’s more to the concept of church than what we have customarily squeezed onto a single stage and into a single hour on a Sunday morning. I’m neutral on whether or not it's a good idea to fully resume the worship services as we used to do them. But I do believe we should avoid equating those modern church services with church itself.

Here’s the biblical reality: we are the church. You won’t find a New Testament reference to the church as a building or a service. What you’ll find instead is that the church is a collection of people. 

Given the fact that God launched his church 2,000 years ago in a setting that looks almost nothing like 21st century America, we should feel free to use our Bibles and our imaginations to pursue healthy and vibrant approaches to being the church in our cultural moment.

So what did it mean for us to live as the church when we were evicted from our buildings? One thing we can say for sure is that church has never actually fit onto a single stage or into a single hour. The temptation is huge to think that it does.

Try this as a thought experiment: Person A has never read the Bible, but has a lifetime of experience in attending a typical American worship service. Person B has never attended a typical American worship service, but reads the New Testament incessantly. Person A and Person B each set out to create a meaningful gathering with a handful of other people. What do you think is the likelihood that the gatherings crafted by A and B will look anything alike?

What if we could forget that we’ve ever seen a typical American worship service and to instead custom create church gatherings that are specifically designed for this cultural moment? Instead of masks and Covid regulations being a hindrance, what if we allowed ourselves all the freedom the New Testament gives on the nature of a church gathering?

The initial Covid lockdown was a moment for all of us to use our best creative energy to imagine what the church could look like during a season of eviction. What would vibrant gatherings entail? How would we empower mission and keep it at the forefront? What about engagement with Scripture, worship, prayer, and communion?

During the lockdown, I put together a short mini-book (32 pages) to help pastors, small group leaders, and church members imagine what church could look like in their small, unique settings. I called it The Evicted Church. While it's aimed at a cultural moment slightly in the past, I think it could still help us consider what we want to build or rebuild moving forward. It doesn't lay out a model, it just provides an exercise in critical thought regarding what church is designed to be. If you want to spend an hour reflecting, pick up the free ebook.

Blessings as you continue the endless task of reforming "church."

Mark Beuving has been serving in pastoral roles for nearly 20 years. After a decade in various teaching and administrative roles at Eternity Bible College, Mark is a pastor at Creekside Church in Rocklin, California. His books include ‘Resonate: Enjoying God’s Gift of Music’ and the New York Times bestseller ‘Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples,’ which he co-authored with Francis Chan.