What Is Church For?

Church communities do not exist merely to keep tradition alive, nor are they elaborate means by which to preserve old buildings. In the life of Jesus we do not find a man preoccupied by getting people to obey a certain idea of what it means to be seen to be good by others. 

Perhaps we can say that church communities come into being, and stay alive, because they are called by God to bear witness to the beauty of the Gospel. But even that is too religious a way to say it. 

What is church for? It is a community of people that God sends out into their town to do justice, to love with mercy, to walk humbly, and to do it all aware of God's presence with them. These are the words of the ancient Hebrew prophet Micah and they are true today for Torry St. Fittick's.