I would guess that by the time you have read the title of this article, you have formulated an answer to the question. I invite you to think with me, not how the church is relevant, but why.
Let me back up a little to explain why I have been thinking about this lately. Several months ago, as I was looking ahead to 2026, I began to ask myself this question. If the church I pastor, Locust Grove Mennonite, ceased to exist, would our community notice? I began to attempt to answer that question, and that process has revealed numerous things.
First, I tried to calculate “how” we as a church community are impactful or relevant. Then, I invited others to think with me about additional ways to relate to our community. This has led to some great discussions and ideas, but largely focused on what we can do. I found myself tempted to compare or look at how other churches are working in the community. I thought through the resources that we share collectively as a church and then looked for places of need in our neighborhood as another approach to finding ways to be relevant. The original question of “Would we be missed?” has led to many great discussions, but they haven’t really answered why the church is relevant in our world today.
“The church is designed to be a small working model of the new creation”
I have found that discussions about how or why the church is relevant can reveal personal perspectives very effectively. For example, if I answer that the church is relevant because of how it impacts the church and cares for those who are a part, it can reveal an underlying perspective that the church is mostly for Christians. If I believe that the church can function as a moral compass for a broken world, then I can be left shattered when Christians—especially Christian leaders—fail morally. If the church is relevant as it influences politics, how do I react when governments don’t completely align with a biblical worldview? What has come to light in all this musing is that I just don’t have a big enough view of God, and also, I need to expand my view of the church.
So why is the church still relevant? We need to think bigger.
“The church is designed to be a small working model of the new creation” (N.T. Wright). One of the church’s purposes is to demonstrate that the God revealed in Christ is the true redeeming God and glory of the world. That’s an incredible responsibility. God is working in and through the church to redeem and restore His creation and “make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). How can we live together as a church community as we would imagine the new creation? How would our communities be impacted if we invited them to be a part of a community that models a new heaven and earth?
Several years ago, I stood in the spot where Jesus spoke the words, “I will build my church, and the gate of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt. 16:18 NIV). A large cavern is there where, in ancient times, they believed that you could enter the underworld—”the realm of the dead.” Jesus wasn’t commanding us to storm the gates of hell, but was revealing that death would not stop His church. We live in a world that lives in constant fear of death. In 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, the Apostle Paul proclaims victory over death through our Lord Jesus Christ. He then goes on to describe a major work of the church: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).
The message of “death has no victory” is our labor in the Lord, a need of this world, and a why of the Church.
My final why to consider comes from Ephesians 2:22: “…in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” In the Old Testament, the tabernacle and temple were the places where God met with and revealed Himself to His people, where His glory was revealed. Our churches are a place where the glory of God is revealed. Jesus talked to His followers about being the salt of the earth, and light of the world individually, but He referred to them collectively as a “city on a hill,” not hidden or obscured in the world, but reflecting the glory of God so that all can see.
The church is relevant in our world, not just for how we impact our communities, but for whom and what we proclaim; it is the reason we exist. We proclaim Jesus as Lord, that He has conquered death, and that God is restoring all His creation. From this starting point, can we now consider what that might look like in our communities and how we can accomplish our purpose?
Photo credit: Unsplash – Elaine Casap
