Is it right for the church to have devotionals, Leadership Training for Christ, retreats, summer camps for the youth, Trick or Treat at Halloween, or New Year Eve parties at the church?<\/p>\n\t
A church’s duty foremost is to provide the opportunity of its members to gather for worship. “… when you come together as a church<\/em>” (I Corinthians 11:18). “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification<\/em>” (I Corinthians 14:26).<\/p>\n Paul’s statement leads us to the second duty, which is to teach — both its members and to spread the gospel message. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:11-12). That includes the support of preachers teaching the gospel. “Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities<\/em>” (Philippians 4:15-16).<\/p>\n A third duty is to help its members who are in financial difficulties (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35; 6:1-3). Mostly the church helps with short-term disasters, such as famines, but in limited cases, it helps with long-term care (I Timothy 5:16).<\/p>\n For a church to be involved in something, there first needs to be given authority from the head of the church, that is Christ, before engaging in any activity. Therefore, devotionals and leadership training fall under the church’s duty to teach God’s word. But parties and recreation are not authorized.<\/p>\n Some try to get around the lack of authority by claiming to do a task that is authorized, such as holding a class for young people, while supplying pizza and soda, which are not authorized. Each thing needs to be examined to see if it is truly a part of what Christ wants the church to do. We need to remember that it is the gospel that should be the reason people come to learn, not food or entertainment. “Jesus answered them and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him’<\/em>” (John 6:26-27).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Is it right for the church to have devotionals, Leadership Training for Christ, retreats, summer camps for the youth, Trick or Treat at Halloween, or New Year Eve parties at the church? Answer: A church’s duty foremost is to provide the opportunity of its members to gather for worship. “… when you come together…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[154,192,152],"class_list":["post-21770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-church-funds","tag-liberalism","tag-social-activities"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-proper-for-a-church-to-give-gifts\/","url_meta":{"origin":21770,"position":0},"title":"Is it proper for a church to give gifts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please, I would like to ask the following questions: Is it scriptural for the church to organize a send-forth program for its outgoing preacher, elder, or faithful member who is relocating? The program typically involves citation, extolling of virtues, prayers, and presentation of gifts purchased by both the church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24592,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-doesnt-seem-that-hebrews-1025-is-the-right-verse-to-explain-why-childrens-church-is-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":21770,"position":1},"title":"It doesn’t seem that Hebrews 10:25 is the right verse to explain why children’s church is wrong","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello.\u00a0 I'm responding to the article \"Parallel Worship\" by Bob Berard.\u00a0 I have my own misgivings about children's church and junior church, which is why I began searching for articles.\u00a0 However, Berard immediately puts himself on the wrong footing by claiming that such groupings for kids \"violate the injunction\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29756,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-leave-a-church-that-is-not-withdrawing-from-sinful-members\/","url_meta":{"origin":21770,"position":2},"title":"Should I leave a church that is not withdrawing from sinful members?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, I belong to a church of Christ that is sound in its teaching.\u00a0 I enjoy worshiping God there and the people are loving and kind.\u00a0 The problem I have is that we have leaders who are too kind to take a real stand to correct people who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63303,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-purpose-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":21770,"position":3},"title":"The Purpose of the Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 3:14-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Have you paused to consider why the church exists? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It appears to me that many of the problems faced by congregations stem from a lack of understanding the purpose of the church \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I looked at material from various denominations.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33269,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/because-of-road-construction-our-church-is-split-into-two-groups-are-they-still-one-church-or-are-they-two\/","url_meta":{"origin":21770,"position":4},"title":"Because of road construction, our church is split into two groups. Are they still one church or are they two?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: May God continuously guide you as you continue your service to the lost. I need to ask some questions about the autonomy of the church. Allow me to relate our situation. My home congregation is a large congregation and members come from different areas. At the moment some of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95257,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-take-to-start-a-congregation\/","url_meta":{"origin":21770,"position":5},"title":"What does it take to start a congregation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings, Hope this email finds you well. I have some questions about the organization and definition of a local church. My first question is: What are the necessary requirements for a group of Christians to form or constitute a local church in the biblical sense? I understand that an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}