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What does it mean to be the Church?
In Churchology, Hanna Newcomer Sliva invites us to see the Church not as a building or a program, but as a people formed together in Christ. Drawing from Ephesians 4:11–16, we are reminded that each of us has been given gifts to share, not for ourselves alone, but for the strengthening of the whole body. When we live into those gifts, we begin to grow—individually and together—into the fullness of Christ.
This growth does not happen all at once, and it does not happen alone. As we walk alongside one another, we are shaped by grace, encouraged in faith, and grounded in truth. Even in seasons of change, Christ remains the one who holds the Church together, guiding us toward unity, maturity, and deeper love.
As we look ahead, we are invited to take our place within this shared life. Each act of service, each moment of care, each step of faith becomes part of how the Church is built up. Together, rooted in Christ, we continue to grow into who God is calling us to be.
Take Time to Reflect
- Where do you see your gifts being used to build up the body of Christ?
- How is God inviting you to grow alongside others in this season?
- What does it look like for us to live as the Church together this week?
Ephesians 4:11-16 New International Version
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.