Do Churches Need to Adapt?

Everyone seems to be talking about the need for churches (and other entities) to stay up with the times… to adapt to new technologies and new strategies, new philosophies and new methodologies. Change with the times, offer more online options, be more immediately accessible (don’t do anything the world won’t understand), revisit your marketing/growth and outreach strategies, or your church will suffer.

Do you want to know what will not only never be out of style, but also will never cease to be absolutely necessary, essential, and timelessly relevant?—Gathering with Christ’s people, singing with one another, hearing God’s Word preached in person, praying together, celebrating the Lord’s supper—all of which can only really be done in person. The space matters; physical presence matters; embodied fellowship and togetherness matters.

As churches continue to try to convince you that being online is just as good as in person, and that staying away from the assembly is what the Assembly (church) should be doing… and that when the author of Hebrews says that assembling together is essential for our mutual encouragement and edification, he really means we can forsake the assembly sometimes and it will be just as edifying and our church can be “stronger than ever!”… Well, time will tell. But I believe time will tell (and has told) that this is not so.

Christians will realize that it actually is crucial to continue doing what Christians have done for the past 2,000 years—gather with our fellow believers on the Lord’s Day, in the face of all opposition and risk, to corporately declare, uphold, and proclaim the Word and worth of God, and to officially affirm, equip, and edify one another’s faith in Christ through discipleship, corporate worship in song, the teaching and preaching of God’s Word, and the observance of the ordinances.

Assembling together is the most fundamental and foundational thing Christians do.

The calls to “adapt,” and “change,” and “keep up” will last for a little while… but I believe 2021 will see churches beginning to realize the need for a “back to the basics” approach—a strategy of steady faithfulness in the ordinary means of grace—because the “basics” are absolutely critical. Gathering together on the Lord’s Day to pray together, encourage one another, sing together, and sit under the teaching of God’s Word together is foundational to everything else.
If you are looking for a church dedicated to:

  • The simple verse-by-verse exposition of the whole counsel of God’s Word,
  • Singing songs that exalt the Word and worth of Jesus Christ, are theologically rich, musically appropriate, and designed to be sung by a congregation,
  • Upholding grace as the motivation for how the local church functions and for living the Christian life,
  • Affirming that God alone is the Lord of the conscience, and thereby protecting the individual’s conscience from being bound by the commandments of men,
  • Practicing meaningful hospitality, fellowship, and discipleship,
  • Becoming (and helping one another become) committed and competent disciples of Christ in every area of life,

I invite you to consider Fairview Bible Church.

My hope, to borrow wording from a fellow pastor, is that, in an historical sense, Fairview Bible Church is a boringly normal, biblical church. We have no interest in reinventing the wheel or creating a “new kind of church.”

Our church from its conception has been rooted in the conviction that the Bible is our absolute authority and rule of life as God’s true and unfailing Word. It is through the faithful teaching and application of the Word of God that we can grow to better know, obey, and love Christ. And we’re committed to having no problem passages—where the Scriptures speak, we speak.

You’ll find when you spend time with us that we are far from perfect—but that we want to point you to the One who is. I hope you’ll join us as we seek to know Christ more deeply, follow Him more faithfully, and love Him and others more fully.

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