I have an agnostic acquaintance who, although admittedly not hostile to “religion,” fails to see what the “big deal” is of going to church in the middle of this pandemic. After all, what is a few months of watching televised services or streamed sermons? No big deal – right?

As a Christian who came straight out of atheism, I might have a perspective that can help. A human being is acknowledged by the world at large to be made up of mind and body. Many would go further and acknowledge a spirit as well. For people who do not acknowledge the spirit, it is vain to try to explain why church is essential, since they will deny the very premise on which it is founded.

There is a song I found years ago on iTunes called a “Gathering of Spirits” by Carrie Newcomer, and the chorus goes:

“There’s a gathering of spirits
There’s a festival of friends
And we’ll take up where we left off
When we all meet again”

I believe that describes what church is. We are a gathering of spirits. My spirit and yours come together in fellowship when we meet in church and they are part of the larger communion. This can’t be done through the 4th wall of media like TV and video streaming. Technology takes our image and our speech and reproduces a facsimile of it, one that cannot reproduce the spiritual essence of a person.

This is why you feel differently when watching church as opposed to going to church. On a level that people like my friend can understand, watching a sporting event on TV is not the same as being there in person. The technology may have huge advantages over the live event in the way of replays and detail, but its not the same. That’s why people pay hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to see an event live they could watch at home for free.

Back to the spiritual essence of church. What takes place in a church meeting? First, a communion of believers takes place. Secondly, the Lord himself is there in the Spirit joining the fellowship. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.”

Because Jesus joins the fellowship, church is a place where prayer is offered and answered. Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Church is a place where believers agree in prayer.

Each week Christians gather to worship God. They gather to worship God in whatever Church they can get to. Many are persecuted for their faith and many make great sacrifices to get to those churches. Every Christian knows that when his or her time on earth is through, they will join God in the next life. And we look forward to it. Does it make sense that we should not assemble out of fear?

Of course, this fellowship is purely voluntary and that is as it should be. Church is not a building. As a pastor friend of mine once said, you don’t join a church and become a Christian, you join Christ and become the church. And so your fellowship can be as small as yourself and one other believer. The Lord will join you wherever you are and as scripture declares “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12

Gathering together in faith is essential to being a Christian. We are not to “forsake the assembling of ourselves together” Hebrews 10:25. And so we will continue together, in secret if need be, like many of our brothers and sisters around the world, watching until the Lord returns.