A Mission Perspective on Buildings for Churches

A personal view by Andrew Blamey

Do you remember some of the last words quoted by Jesus in Marks gospel when he appeared to the eleven just before He was taken to heaven?

He said to them, "Go into all the world and ........ build a church on every corner".

Is that what Jesus said?

What He really said to them was, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Mark 16:15

What am I saying by mis-quoting this verse?

The point is, that even when talking about church building projects, we have to remember the main task given to us by Jesus. Our task is to tell others the good news, the news of the salvation that is available to us through the death of Jesus,.....not to build buildings!

It is easy for a congregation to think that they need buildings because churches typically have buildings. We do see church buildings on almost every corner in Australia, and the definition of 'church' has often become blurred to mean 'the building', rather than the people who are gathered. At times 'buildings' can appear to be in tension with 'ministry' when they use up our energies and funds.

How can we resolve this apparent tension?

To do so we will need to keep our eyes focussed on our primary mission from Jesus...

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

What has the bible got to say about this?

Looking at the Old Testament we read about the temple building which was a place where sacrifices were made to God. God dwelled in the temple and was shielded from the view of even the priests by curtains. If people wanted to make requests of God they had to do so through the priests.

In The New Testament and in early church histories we don't read much about the Christians building church buildings! When Jesus died on the cross lots of things changed. We no longer need the priests and temples as each of us can talk directly to God. God told us how He now wants to live in us.

From 1 Corinthians 3:16 we read....

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."

Or again from Acts 17:24 we read .....

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else."

We do read about the Christians meeting together, preaching and going on journeys to tell the gospel, and encourage the new Christian communities. The 'Church' was the community of Christians that met together, not a building where Christians met. The communities of Christians met where ever they could, in houses, courtyards and in the countryside.

If that is the case what buildings do our church communities need?

Are our buildings to be a place where God dwells? No, because now he dwells in our heart.

Do we need a place to make sacrifices? No, because Jesus has sacrificed himself once for all.

Do we need to be in a church building to worship God? No, we worship him through our lives and in our hearts.

What was that verse again?......

Jesus said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

So, why do churches need buildings? There must be some reason we see so many of them!

In our society in Australia we have the freedom and resources to meet together in larger groups as a congregation. In some countries this would not be advisable and church buildings may not assist the ministry aims. In our day, in Australia, church buildings are best justified if they assist the mission of our church community.

Instead of being built for their own sake church buildings are to be a TOOL for us to use in reaching others with the good news.

What is it that we can learn from this?

No matter how strong we are sometimes we need a tool to help us. You can't hit a nail into wood without a hammer. The tool makes the job easier.

No matter how strong we are we need the right tool. A little hammer will not hit in a big nail into wood properly and visa versa.

It is the same for a church congregation. There are many aspects of mission that can be done better if we have some buildings as tools. What's more, the buildings need to be the right buildings for the specific mission of the congregation.

If a particular church has a focus on sharing the gospel with the frail aged is it essential that their building has a fabulous preschool area with kinder toilet and play area? No, they would probably be better off with some lounge areas and areas for occupational activities.

To further understand why any particular congregation may want to build a new building, a good place to start would be to examine their mission directions.

Another helpful way of looking at buildings for a congregation is to think about the fact that a church community is like a large family. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ together. Like any other family it is desirable to have a 'home'. A home where we get together, have meals and have fun together. The 'home' ideally has bathrooms, kitchens and a place for the car. The 'home' for a congregation needs to be large enough to suit the size of the family. This is not a house where God lives as in the Old Testament, but a house for God's people. A house where community is experienced and where compassion can be poured out.

To summarise I consider:-

+ The primary mission of the church is to tell others the Good News.
+ Churches do not need buildings for their own sake but as tools for ministry.
+ A building, like any other tool, needs to be the right one for the particular job.

I pray that God will encourage you as a congregation in exploring your mission in your area.

PERMISSION FOR USE OF THIS ARTICLE - This article is freely available for use by churches as they see fit but it would be appreciated if an acknowledgment of source to Aibee Architects was always retained. Commercial use of these guidelines for publication in other locations or by other Architects is prohibited without the written permission of Aibee Architects.