All of my life, I have been a part of one church. My church has taught me many important lessons, and I would like to share one of them with you today.

“A church is a people, not a place.” This is the main lesson of one of the recent sermons that I heard while attending Sunday service.

It is funny how much I learn every time I listen to a sermon; how much God speaks to me and teaches me new things. I come to a place every Sunday to worship God and to learn about His word. There is always more to learn, no matter how many years I have attended.

Did you know that a church is not a place? The word “church” has come about through an error in translation. If you look up the word “church” on Google, you will find that the definition refers to it as a building used for public Christian worship. Translated from Greek, the original word that “church” arose from is “ecclesia,” which means an assembly. The meaning of “ecclesia” has been lost through the years. This changes the intent of the original scripture, which would refer to a gathering of people, not a place where people gather. Therefore, “church” has turned into a word that is used to describe a place. We abuse the word “church” without knowing it. A church is an assembly of people who come together to worship God, in no particular place at no set time.

This is true. It is true because it simply is by definition. But for me, personally, it makes a lot of sense. Even though I have been misusing the word “church” for so long, my church is a people. They do not exist as my church only in one specific location. They are my church when I see them while grocery shopping and if I were to see them halfway across the world.

My church is a group of people who makes me feel at home wherever I am. We worship God together and we love each other. We support each other in times of need. We are a family of God, but we are not a place. We are a people: a people with God’s word to spread to the rest of the world.

All of my life, I have been a part of one church. This church has raised me, supported me and loved me in the greatest and toughest times of my life. I have used the phrase “going to church” consistently. Only recently did I realize that all this time, I have been looking at things wrong. My church is a group of people who gathers at one place every Sunday to celebrate the Lord Our God. My church comes from all different places. They have different lives and different stories. My church is a group of God’s children with a mission to meet people where they are and lead them to where Christ wants them to be.

The importance of this lesson is that the word “church” signifies much more than just a building. A church is a family of people who come to love each other and most importantly, love God. Learning this about the word “church” did two things for me. First, it changed the way I will use the word in the future. I no longer will “go to church.” Secondly, it forced me take a moment to do something that we all should do more often. To appreciate my assembly of beautiful people working to spread the Word of God: my church.