For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Romans 10:13-14 (ESV)

The church is important because Bible preaching is God’s intended method for the message of Christ to be spread. The New Testament is replete with examples of believers bringing the Gospel to a city and people responding in faith to the message. These new believers would join together in a community of faith, establishing a local church where God’s message would be preached and taught.

In a day when copies of the Scripture were not widely available, Christians longed to hear the Scriptures read and to receive nourishment from the Word of God. In the culture of that day, their affiliation with God’s people often meant a life of shame and affliction, but they persevered. They treasured their relationship with Christ and His Church more than personal comfort.

Today, with sermons readily available via radio, television and the Internet, Christians have more opportunities to hear God’s Word than ever before. But God’s plan for believers has not changed. The local church is still God’s primary means for communicating the truth of God’s Word and it provides relationships resulting in accountability and encouragement for all believers.