In the Apostles’ Creed we confess belief in “the holy, catholic church.” Catholic, of course, does not mean Roman Catholic, but the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the church spread around the world, across many nations, with hundreds of different languages, and millions, if not billions, of members. While it is vitally important for Christians to be active participants in a local church, it is also important to remember that we are members of the universal church.
My wife and I recently had a lovely experience of that. While on long service leave, we travelled in England and Europe and, as often as possible, made a point of going to church on Sundays. We enjoyed two large, strong evangelical churches in London and another wonderful church in Oxford. Later on, we were on the hunt for English speaking churches in Europe. We attended a small church in the south of France, and the American Church in Paris. That church was itself something of a world-wide church with people in attendance from over forty different countries. The music and the message were richly multi-cultural.
But our highlight was an experience in the alpine city of Innsbruck in Austria. Our attempt to find an English-speaking church was foiled when, on arrival, we found the service cancelled because they were all away at a conference. But a few minutes later another woman also arrived for the non-existent service. Thankfully she spoke quite good English and kindly offered to take us to good Bible teaching church she knew of not too far away. We gratefully headed off with her to another small church where, it turned out, many of their members were also away at a conference (yes, we had struck a holiday weekend). They were therefore holding a small, informal gathering over brunch. We were warmly welcomed, and one woman came and sat by us, offering to translate as the pastor spoke. Next, they broke into small groups to discuss Bible passages on the coming of the Holy Spirit, since it was Pentecost Sunday. They deliberately formed an ad hoc English-speaking group to accommodate us, and so a few others joined our table. The realities of Pentecost were alive and well as we worshipped alongside people speaking several different languages. Finally, we enjoyed bumbling our way through singing well-known Christian songs in German.
It was moving to truly feel like members of the universal church of Jesus Christ. The experience there, and in other churches, impressed on me five realities that we should cherish as universal church members.
First, the vast scope of God’s work. It is easy to hunker down in our church and be overly absorbed by its ups and downs, forgetting that God’s work is far wider and greater. He is saving people from every tribe, nation, language and tongue. He is gathering a world-wide people of God. One day, we will see how richly diverse and multicultural the church is when we gather around the throne in glory. Our European experiences didn’t even scratch the surface of what God is doing in Africa, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and many other places. Even if your church is small, you are part of something huge.
Second, the uniqueness of the Christian bond. Those who believe in Christ not only have God as their Father, but every other Christian in the world as their brother and sister. There is delight in meeting with believers in other places and immediately sensing a real bond. The believers in Austria so quickly felt like family and treated us as family. We immediately have so much in common with Christians from other places, even if in language, skin colour and culture we are entirely different. We share the same core convictions, have the same worldview, and we “get” each other straight away. There is a unique bond because we are one in Christ. That is a wonderful thing.
Third, the richness of multi-cultural churches. Many churches will inevitably be fairly mono-cultural because that is the context in which they exist. But increasingly we live in multicultural communities and there is nothing healthier than for churches in such contexts to reflect that. To warmly embrace people from other nations, to value them, listen to them, learn from them, and look to them for new perspectives, will inevitably enrich us. It may well challenge some of our practices and presuppositions. It will force us out of the comfort zone of mixing only with people like us. But it will also deepen our experience of what it means to be members of the universal church. It is easier to worship with people just like us; it is richer to worship with people who are different to us.
Fourth, the blessing of welcome. In each place we visited, we were just that – visitors. But we met people who warmly welcomed us as visitors. There is something innately right about a church being a welcoming place because we have all received the most wonderful welcome from God. He did not hold us at a distance but welcomed us, at supreme cost, into his own family. So, all strength to the church member who moves seat to sit next to a visitor; to the person who goes up to someone new with a friendly smile; to the church that receives people not as numbers for their records, but humans to befriend. If it is a lovely thing to be welcomed, then it is essential that we all help our local church be a welcoming place for new people.
Finally, the importance of church. The universal church comes to expression in thousands of local churches. We would have had no experience of the universal church if many Christians had not prioritised going to their own local church the Sunday we were there. The local church is the place of Christian gathering, of spiritual fellowship, of biblical preaching, of prayer, of the sacraments, of singing, and therefore of true worship. To neglect the local church is to impoverish yourself and short-change others. Conversely, to prioritise going to church is to put first in our week, and central in our lives, the thing that is dearest to our Lord Jesus: his church! You cannot be a meaningful member of the universal church without being a committed member of a local church.
There are many more truths we could identify regarding the universal church of Jesus Christ, but these five are worth pondering and cherishing. And then next time you confess, “I believe… the holy, universal church,” allow your heart to delight in the vast work of Christ you and your church are a part of.