5 Functions of Christianity and the Church

Although there are several different functions and areas that make up Christianity and the Church, they can all be narrowed down to five basic ones: Worship, Proclamation, Fellowship, Edification, and Ministry.
One of the most influential and impacting functions of the church rests upon the area of worship. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, worship is defined as “a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual.” However, their definition does not begin to touch on what worship really is and the significance it holds. Worship is meant to be a time of invitation of our Lord’s pure presence, and a time for relationship with our King. Music is not only a way to invite God’s presence, but also a way to remove the stress and clutter from the world, unload bags of worry and anxiety, and find peace in a tranquil atmosphere. Regrettably however, that intimate relationship with Jesus and temporary worldly-freedom is constantly threatened by “irrelevant” worship. If the congregation does not connect to the music, then chances are they will be unable to connect to God. The number one reason why people leave a church, according to ministrybestpractices.com, is that “the church is not helping [them] to develop spiritually.” The matter of fact is Christians want to grow spiritually. Worship, as mentioned before, facilitates God’s presence into the church and allows a time for the people to spiritually encounter God thus allowing growth in God. There have been several issues in the past (and continues throughout today) where newer generations are completely unfazed and unreached by the hymns of traditional songs that the elderly favor. Likewise, the elderly are unable to connect to the newer generation’s music and in fact most of them find it offensive or distasteful. In spite of the reactions from both parties (newer and older generations) the spiritual experience is lost. One thing that several churches have done in the past was to simply have different services for the congregation. The first service would play traditional hymns and praise songs for the older generation while the second service consisted of more rhythmic and upbeat songs for the newer generation. Other churches resolved with having a mix of all types of songs in one service rather than having multiple services. The only problem with this solution is that the inconsistency of song type may lead to members leaving. Another solution is to simply continue with the song selection with limited variety, and for those who do not accept or relate may need to just find another church that fancies their likings. Although this solution seems rather harsh, it keeps the views of the church steady and demonstrates consistency.
The second area of Christianity and the Church is the function of proclamation. Unlike the definition for worship, the definition for proclamation could not be better said. It reads, “A public or official announcement, especially one dealing with a matter of great importance.” Proclamation is the growth of the body of Christ where the lost are found, the captives set free, and the sleepers awake. The idea behind proclamation is not that of increasing in size and numbers, but to bring people to Jesus. Examples of proclamation include preachers, missionaries, evangelists, and the written word itself. Anything that speaks the truth of God in the lives of people from Average Arnold to Holy Holly is an act of proclamation.
Proclamation itself is affected by several threats as well including language barriers, “professionalism,” and restrictive structures. Language use to be one of the biggest barriers that affected the world, but that barrier is slowly decreasing with the increase of English speakers and translator applications. In the past, Kings and prophets would translate the bible and stories in to a “language” that the public could understand, i.e. King James. Before then, after much refute and fighting, the bible was translated to different languages so that the people could read it for themselves and not depend on the high priest’s translation alone. Language today, however, is still a huge barrier to those who go out in to the mission field to a country with limited skills in the colloquial language. The only way to break through that barrier is by teaching and learning; while missionaries are teaching their language, they’re also learning the country’s language. Through that process they begin to set relationships with the community and are then able to explain the relationship that they can have with Jesus. When there are questions and confusion, which there always is, the missionaries will then have two language options that they can explain the material in, equating to a higher chance in understanding.
Fellowship, another function of Christianity and the Church, is what keeps Christianity moving and the Church a whole. Within fellowship there is an association and community of people pursuing a shared interest – God. Fellowship keeps people accountable throughout the different seasons of life, and serves as support, strength, and comfort in times of trials and temptation. Fellowship itself brings people to Jesus through love and community, and can be the deciding factor in handing their lives to God. Unfortunately, just as it can influence someone to join a church or Christianity it can just as easily turn people away.
One of the biggest threats to the Church is that of power struggles and differences among denominations. Denominations are continuously fighting about whose practice and belief is right and why the other’s is wrong. This fighting has not only pushed people away from the conflicting denominations, but from Christianity itself! In the past, people resolved their disputations with wars and terrorist attacks over and over again. Although their tactics proved to be effective and won everyone’s view to that of their own (note sarcasm,) there are other solutions that should be considered today. The number one thing that should always be remembered is that no matter how much evidence and support someone presents, no one will ever gain full agreement and support. That being said, the only thing to do is to respect the traditions and views of other denominations and religions, allow them to do what they please so long that they are not inflicting another’s rights, and have “professional” arguments and debates with each other if they so please. In addition, everyone should remember that just because there is another view on how to praise and live for God, it does not mean that they are going to hell, for that too causes fellowship to crumble. The next area is the function of edification. Where proclamation results in the growth to the body of Christ, edification results in individual growth. One of the most common and recognizable forms of edification is that of discipleship, where someone is guided in their walk with God and where they can learn to grow closer to Him. However, there are several threats that attack this particular function. In the past, for example, a sect of people became so distorted by what they “knew as the gospel” that they began teaching something completely different from the actual gospel. Their distortion became so bad that they ended becoming their own religion, Gnosticism. Another example is when a King separated from the church and distorted Christianity to allow his legalization of marrying someone younger because he no longer loved his wife. Nowadays it should be less of a problem because we all have a bible to help us understand Jesus and His teachings. With the bible readily at the right hand, every new idea or theology cannot be supported or pass if it goes against scripture. However, there are still those who manage to distort what scripture in fact says but at least their credibility disintegrates.
Another threat is that some disciplers and leaders become legalistic. Although discipleship is a process to where disciples are guided in directions and decisions, it does not mean that they are to be completely governed and must obey every word from their discipler. The only time a discipler has full authority was when Jesus was discipling because He was perfect. Even then however, the disciples had the choice to follow or not. Leaders can become power hungry or controlling and become legalistic. Therefore leaders must also know their limits in discipleship and understand that they do not control their discples, they simply guide them. Remembering this key concept will then help ensure that they do not cross lines thus allowing the disciple to freely make their own decisions.
The last area in Christianity and the Church is the function of ministry. The definition of ministry is actually the main threat to its function: “The work or vocation of a minister in religion.” Although a person’s ministry is what “they do” or how they’re involved in Christianity or in a church, it does not mean that they need to treat it as if it is their job. The whole point of Christianity is to have a relationship with Jesus, but when people become narrow minded and see only the tasks at hand, they unknowingly remove Jesus from His own place. Likewise, when the church is in need of a minister to fill a spot, there must be prayer and assurance from God that the candidate is part of God’s will. When ministers demand more money than is needed and threaten to leave if they do not receive said payment, then that is a good hint that they are not part of God’s plan. In that situation, they are coming in without Jesus as the center of their ministry versus someone who later lost sight of Jesus. Some would say the former is the worst of the two situations. Although this is something that continues to happen today, the only way to keep this from increasing is to hold each other accountable. When leaders and ministers begin to lose sight of Jesus and begin to treat their ministry as a job, friends, family, and church members (fellowship) need to be right there next them “lifting their arms” so that whatever burdens that lay on the ministers shoulders may be lifted off. Another way is to take a couple of days (or however long it takes) to reconnect with God and catch renewed vision in what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.
As stated before, there are several functions of both Christianity and the Church, and each function carries its own risk and threat. However, through prayer, guidance, and accountability in fellowship, ministers can limit the distortion of the gospel and the distortion of Christianity as a whole.