I’ll never forget the shock I felt one Sunday morning when a visitor at our church asked, “Now, where is your church?” We were meeting in a local theater, living the portable-church life (which we did for four years). There were many unsanctified responses that ran through my head when this visitor asked that question; I’ll spare you the details. But eventually, I forced a smile and gestured to the congregation still mingling after the service and said, “You’re looking at it!”

This visitor had a particular view of the church that shaped their question. It was one that the church is a place and probably a particular kind of place (certainly not a local theater that still smelled like last night’s popcorn!). But many of us have inherited such a view.

Maybe it started when we were kids. I remember learning this simple rhyme: Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors, and see all the people. It sure seemed harmless at the time! And yet it revealed something: Church is not synonymous with people. People go to church. It’s not who they are.

But it wasn’t always this way. The Greek term for “church” is ekklesia. At its core, it translates to something like “called out ones.” As in, people who have been called out of something or for something. In nonbiblical Greek usage, it typically meant “assembly.” But it always involved people, not a place. So how did this change? When did we move from church as identity to church as destination?

I don’t know all of those answers, but it would seem that, at the very least, we allowed Old Covenant theology to infiltrate our New Covenant thinking about the Church. Let me explain:

Old Covenant Theology

In the Old Covenant, if anyone wanted to encounter God’s presence, there was a particular place where that could happen: at the Temple, in Jerusalem. God’s presence was limited to the Most Holy Place (or the Holy of Holies) within the Temple. And access to God’s presence was restricted: Only a priest could enter the Temple, but only a high priest could enter the Most Holy Place—and he could only do that once each year on the Day of Atonement. So for the average Jewish person, their access to God was vicarious—through a priest. Gentiles (non-Jews) were at a greater disadvantage, as they were restricted to a more distant courtyard that could barely look in on the Temple grounds. But that was the Old Covenant: Come to a location to access God.

New Covenant Theology

But something better has arrived. Jesus inaugurated a New Covenant with His death and resurrection. He has opened up “a new and living way” (Hebrews 10:20) for us to have access to God. As a result, God would come to live in and among His people through His own Spirit: “Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). This would have sounded ridiculous to Jews and Gentiles alike! God’s presence was no longer confined to a geographic location, and access to Him was not restricted to a priesthood. Instead, God has taken up residence in His people!

In this New Covenant, there was no longer a geographically-restricted, racially-divided temple. Instead, as God’s presence moved into the hearts and lives of Christ’s people, there were now millions of temples. And wherever they went, that’s where God’s presence went too!

We may not have allowed this earth-shattering reality to really sink in. Or if it has, we haven’t let it get down all the way into our thinking about the Church. Because this promise—that God’s presence goes with us—is not meant to merely comfort us or remind us that we’re never alone. That’s a beautiful byproduct of this reality, but I don’t think it’s the primary intention. Instead, it’s for us to remember that whenever people encounter us, they are also encountering the indwelling presence of Christ within us.

This is what it truly means for us to be the ekklesia. We are the called-out ones who have been delivered from darkness and into the marvelous light of the Kingdom (1 Peter 2:9). And yes, these called-out persons do gather together in a physical location. That is an inseparable reality from who we are as the people of Christ. But we don’t gather for the same reasons that our spiritual ancestors gathered in Jerusalem. We no longer gather to access God’s presence; we already have it. Instead, the gathering of the called-out people is for the purpose of propelling God’s mobile temples into their daily spheres of influence: where they live, learn, work, and play.

Broken Thinking

Sadly, however, that Old Covenant theology lingers in today’s church. Even if only implicitly, we think of our church building as a temple and our pastor as a new high priest. It shows up in how we talk, even if those things seem innocent: What church do you go to? Or, what time are you going to church? These are destination questions, not identity ones.

Or how about this: Pastor, would you pray for me? Granted, it is a sincere privilege as a pastor to pray for others. But my role as a pastor does not mean I have different proximity or access. It’s not as though I have the direct line to get through to God, whereas you have to go through someone else.

Or one more: Shouldn’t the church do something about _____? What’s the insinuation, when this comes from one of your church members or attenders? Isn’t it something to this effect: The church is led by paid professionals, and they should take care of this problem, not me. Maybe our questions reveal more than we realize: There is a dichotomy for most people between the church and the people. And when we reduce the Church to a destination or even a gathering, we miss out on God’s divine design. Missiologist Dwight Smith has said, “The church as a gathering place has made us more sedentary. We have set up camp, enjoying the surroundings and waiting for eternity.”

Implications of the New Covenant

But that is not ekklesia. It is not what we are called to, nor why we were called out in the first place. If we truly understood our identity as mobile temples, then we would see the Church differently—we would see ourselves differently:

Instead of the gathering being a place to collect, it would be a place to commission.

Instead of seeing the church as a building, it would be seen as a body.

Instead of thinking about a select few professionals, we would think about the Holy Spirit within us.

Instead of church as a destination, we’d see church as our destiny.

This is how the called-out people of God live out the reality of the New Covenant, that wherever they go, God goes.

The next time someone asks you, “Where is your church?” it’s fine to give them the name and the address. But I hope, even as you answer, your heart is reminded: The Church is more than a location. It’s you. It’s us. It’s the people of God, walking with Him and making Him known in everyday places.

Where is your church? All over the place!

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Author Bio

Jonathan Drake is a local church pastor in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York. He is husband to Gabriella and father to two kids. One of Jonathan’s passions is to use the written word to build up disciples of Jesus.

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Prayers for the Church		The Church Calendar		Chosen | A Study on the Book of Ephesians | Digital Bible Study
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