“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…” (Heb. 10:24-25)

Restoration Church member, Misael G., explains why he enjoys  members’ meetings.

Call me crazy, but I believe members’ meetings are as much an important part of our church life as Sunday gatherings. It is in these gatherings of the visible body where church happens.

Often times we forget the church is a living organism. The church breathes and grows, strives and loves. It images Christ! When “church” is reduced to “going” to a weekly meeting and a sermon, we lose the beauty and intimacy that was intended for us who make up the body of Christ. Our members’ meetings remind us of the covenant we made with each other and of both the privilege and the sacrifice being a part of the body requires.

It is in these meetings that we gather as a body to encourage one another. This encouragement reminds us of the grace we may often be blind to in our own lives – and the grace we are blind to in the lives of others! We are reminded vividly of how the Lord is at work in our church.

Just last meeting, I was encouraged by how the Lord has used Greg to draw people to himself in truth and by the sacrificial service of my brothers Hector and Joel in helping my sisters Michelle and Brandi move! I would have otherwise been unaware of this grace.

Members’ meetings are where we come together to bear one another’s burdens. When there is suffering, we are able to weep with those who weep. When there is a serious need for prayer, we are able to faithfully serve our brothers and sisters in prayer. And when we labor alongside one another in prayer, how much more will we rejoice when Christ fulfills his Word? Because He will!

This is how I knew to strive and yearn in prayer for a marriage in our church during the couple’s months of difficulty. How much did I rejoice with my brothers and sisters when the Lord brought healing and reconciliation to them!

This is where we see the unity of our church. As we talk about and wrestle with administrative work, making church decisions as a corporate body, we realize that for the sake of Christ, we will let nothing divide our body. We are united for the sake of the Gospel.

Members’ meetings are where we rekindle our love for Christ by singing spiritual songs and praying together corporately. Here we find what complements our Sunday corporate gatherings: praying together, listening to the distinct voices of distinct members pray aloud to the same God, encouragement, singing hymns together intimately and sharing the joys and sorrows of life with the body as a whole!

We gather together for the glory of Christ, who poured out His blood for us. And now we pour out our blood for one another, that by this love, the world might know we are His disciples.