Changes

topic_name = Church/ Ecclesiology

subtopics = [[Nature of the church]]* [[Mission of the church]]* [[Church Terms Index]]* Contemporary Ecclesiology Issues and Terminology - [[Megachurch]], [[Home church]], [[Emerging church]], [[Incarnational church]]* [[Church building]]

* [[Church Terms Indexservice]]|* opinion_pieces = [[MegachurchChurch (discussion)]] | opinion_pieces = {{short_opinions}}

The word '''church''' is used in many different ways. The '''church'''is the Christian community of believers, that is, it is the people. Sometimes the word 'Synopsis:'' A church''' is also used to refer to a [[church building]] is a (the building used in [[Christian]] [[worship]]) or a [[church service]] (the weekly meeting of a group of Christians in a church building) or to a church [[denomination]]. The church is  '''Ecclesiology''' means the study of the Christian community doctrine of believersthe church.

==Main article=Etymology===

The Greek word "church" is derived through Middle and Old English cirice, circe from the ekklesia ([[GreekΕκκλησια]] κυριακον (δωμα) Lord's (house). However, most English versions of the New Testament use the word is translated as "church" to translate [[ecclesia]] (Greek ἐκκλησία "congregation, assembly", a word originally used without specific reference to religious gatherings)in English.

This word ekklesia was used in ancient [[Koine Greek|Greek]] to mean "gathering" or "assembly" in a political sense. In the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, the [[LXX]], the word ekklesia occurs over 200 times (usually as a translation from the Hebrew word qahal), most commonly to refer to the assembly of the covenant people of God. In the [[New Testament]] the word ekklesia occurs in the [[gospels]] only twice ([[Matthew 16:16]] and [[Matthew 18:20]]), but it occurs many times elsewhere in the [[New Testament]].  From the Greek root ekklesia, the English word Ecclesiology is derived, which is the study of the doctrine of the church.  The English word "church" itself is actually derived from the Old English word "cirice" (which is related to the [[Greek]] word "κυριακή" which means "of the Lord") ===Uses of the word "church" in common English=== TIn English, the word "church" means different things to different people in different contexts. It can be used in reference to a gathering of people for a religious meeting, but . It is also sometimes used to refer to a building or group of buildings, and occasionally it refers to an entire [[denomination]]. It is can also be used in an institutional sense to refer to all churches, such as "... the church today...."  ===[[Nature of the Church]]=== There are a variety of understandings about what the church actually is.  The context in which the word [[denominationekklesia]] (church) is used in the Bible suggests that places it was not originally intended to mean a building or an organization, but instead was intended to primarily mean a congregation or meeting of God's people. Thus the leadership church, although consisting of the community of believers, is not simply the community of believers, but also includes activity. Furthermore, although consisting of all congregations people, the church is not simply an instution created by people. In [[Matthew 16:18]] Jesus spoke about building '''his''' church and later, in [[Matthew 18:20]] he spoke about being present among the church: ''{{Bible verse|matthew|16|18|lang=WEB}}'' (Matthew 16:18): ''{{Bible verse|matthew|18|20|lang=WEB}}'' (Matthew 18:20) The Bible uses the term church in both a local and universal nature. Mostly the word refers to local churches, for example, the church in Rome or Antioch. Quite often it is spoken about the plural. On a few occasions the New Testament uses the word in a central locationgeneral or universal sense. Throughout church history, starting with [[Augustine]], such the church has sometimes been spoken about in terms of the "invisible church" as opposed to the "Roman Catholic Churchvisible church". It can also be The invisible church basically means the community or collection of true believers in Jesus regardless of denominational affiliation. The term visible church is used in an institutional sense to refer to all the physical countable members or leaders that make up a church or group of churches. Many Protestant churchestend to emphasize the invisible church, such and view this as "something quite distinct from the visible church. The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, teaches that the invisible church and visible church are very closely connected, although there is recognition that some elements of the invisible church can be present outside the visible Roman Catholic church.<ref>[[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]]: [http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en. html Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church], 2007, second and third question.</ref> ===[[Mission of the church]]=== The church today's mission can be summarized as to bring glory to God through humanity mirroring God’s own holy character of love<ref>[[Stanley J.Grenz]], ''[[Theology for the Community of God]]'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 2000), 489.</ref>.." This involves:# Honourable worship to God# Building up of each other within the church# Reaching out into the world through service and evangelism