Maybe you’ve been blessed by a parachurch ministry. Maybe Core Christianity or another ministry has become one of the main ways you hear God’s word. Maybe a parachurch organization has even become your main source of Christian community. If so, you may also desire to give financially to that ministry. This is a common situation and may have become even more common during the COVID pandemic because of the restrictions on gathering for worship.
If God has been using a parachurch ministry this way in your life, should you think of it as your church?
No. Core Christianity isn’t a church. Neither are any other parachurch ministries. We’re an organization that wants to come alongside of local churches and pastors and serve them. I’m a pastor of a local church myself. I preach the gospel and care for the members of my church. Organizations like Core Christianity can help and serve churches, but they can’t replace them.
We all need to be in local churches.
True churches bear what we often call the marks of the church. A true church of God proclaims the word of God. The Spirit of God is working where God’s word is preached. An organization might have a building and people might get all dressed up and come together on a Sunday morning, but if the word of God isn’t preached, then God isn’t speaking there. God speaks through his word.
So, it’s the word of God that creates and sustains the church. If a pastor just tells stories and talks about ways to help the community and never preaches from the Bible, then it’s not a church. Helping the community a very good thing, and churches should do that, but lots of organizations—Christian and non-Christian—try to do that. The mark of a church is faithfulness to what God says in his word.
Find a place where the word is central and where Jesus Christ is central and the gospel is preached. We need to have Jesus being preached into our hearts, week in and week out, through faithful pastors.
At Core Christianity, we love answering your questions about the Christian faith, but we’re not a church because a church is a community of believers who meet in person and encourage each other. It’s a community where people know each other and worship together and are accountable under the ministry of the word.
That’s what Jesus calls the church—uniquely—to be.
Ministries like Core Christianity usually depend on the financial support and prayer of many people. If you desire to support an organization like Core, that’s wonderful. But you need to prioritize the local church where you’re a member. That’s where your giving needs to go first.
So, if you’re not a member of a local church, ask the Lord guide you to a place where his word is exalted. Contribute to the needs there and to the advancement of the gospel there.
We’re so grateful for our faithful listeners and to anyone who’s been blessed by what we do here. But our goal is for all of our listeners to belong to a local church and worship there weekly, because that is what God desires.
This article is part of our Frequently Asked Questions series. Listen to Pastor Adriel answer this question on Core Radio here.
Dig deeper with these free resources from Core Christianity:
Core QUESTIONS
These clear and concise PDFs answer some of your toughest questions about the Christian faith:
Do I Have to Attend Church to be a Christian?, How Do I Choose a Church?, What Do I Do When I’ve Been Hurt by the Church?, Why Are There So Many Denominations?
Core GUIDES
Dive deeper with these lengthier and more thorough guides to difficult topics in the Christian life: 8 Things Everyone Should Know about the Church, 9 Things Everyone Should Know About Worship