EkklesiaSample

What does an ideal church look like practically? If you are involved in your local church, there are sure to be things that you really love about your church, but also things that you wish were different. Thankfully, God laid out the foundation for what the church should look like in the book of Acts. In chapter 2, we have a beautiful depiction of what the very first church looked like. This is a framework we can use as a model for our churches today. Some of the characteristics listed are: the church met regularly, focused on Jesus, prayed together and for each other, learned from the Bible, loved each other, and invited more people to join. The amazing thing is that when the church followed this model and did all of these things, the Lord “added to their numbers” every day, which is how we know that this model of doing church works and increases the number of believers that gather together. As you get older and start looking for a church of your own, these characteristics are a great list to use as criteria for a local church where you want to worship. You can also use these to bring change to the church that you are currently part of if you think one of these areas could be stronger.

Challenge: Write down the list of characteristics of a church that you see in Acts 2:42-47. Then, take some time to evaluate your current church, or think about what kind of church you’d like to find in the future. Remember that no church is perfect, because we are imperfect. Ask for God’s help to find a good church that encompasses many of the characteristics from Acts!