A: The Bible never
refers to a building in which God's people meet as a
church. The name, church, always refers to the people in
the Bible. When Paul and Barnabas came to Antioch and
wanted the meet with people, the Bible says that "when
they were come, and had gathered the church together,
they rehearsed all that God had done with them" (Acts
14:27). The church had to be gathered together for a
meeting. The church was the people.
A couple of centuries
ago, certain groups like the Baptists did not call their
buildings churches. They were called meeting houses.
They used this terminology on purpose because they knew
that the church was the people. We could learn from them
today.
Till He comes,
Pastor David Reagan