The gathered church is here to stay

/in /by

Aug. 7, 2025

By Rev. Rick King

On July 13, New Life and Falcon Heights churches approved the Plan of Union and entered a new chapter: moving toward life as a NEW church with a new mission, vision, and identity. Carey Nieuwhof’s essay 10 years ago, titled “13 Predictions about the Future Church,” continues to be relevant to what we’re trying to do. This is the fourth in a series of columns on these in light of our merger opportunity.

Is the gathered church destined to become a thing of the past someday?

With everyone who wants to be able to get sermons, Bible studies, music and other religious content through the internet or other media, that’s a logical question to ask.

Carey Nieuwhof says that if one reads the comments on his blog or any other blog that addresses church leadership, “You would think that some Christians believe the best thing to do is to give up on Christian gatherings of any kind.”

But I think this is a conclusion not warranted by the facts. Despite people leaving organized churches in growing numbers since the late 1990s, and despite the growing use of the internet among churches and others producing religious content, the main reason people gather is that Christian faith is only fully realized in community with others.

The relationships that make up congregations are one of the main reasons people seek out a church home and why they stay—despite conflict, pastors who aren’t a good fit, deaths, controversies, and so on.

Plus, the gathered church can do together far more than individuals could ever do by themselves. Along with what we discovered we enjoyed during the pandemic in worshiping from home via livestream, think of what we missed and what was such a joy to come back to: potlucks, Mardi Gras, pageants, choral concerts, coffee hour, singing together in the same room! And on and on.

While the nature of our gatherings will assuredly evolve, changing with the times, technology and the circumstances of life, the gathered church will always exist in some form or other—because the whole really is greater than the sum of the parts. Without the flesh and blood community, the incarnational faith (God-become-flesh) isn’t fully realized.

What do YOU love most about YOUR gathered church?