Grace Community Church

5402 Rinker Road
Kansas City, MO 64129
816-358-1194

Service Times

Please come and enjoy the presence of the Lord, the preaching of the word, and the moving of the Holy Spirit with us.

* We have a church dinner every 5th Sunday of the month. On these Sundays we may have an afternoon service and NO evening service.

For your meditation

4 Services A Week?

Of course!

Hebrews 10:25 (Weymouth's translation) says, "Not neglecting—as some habitually do—to meet together, but encouraging one another, and doing this all the more since you can see the day of Christ approaching." Knowing that the day of Jesus' return is nearing should deepen our desire for the fellowship of His people, for the hearing of His word, and for opportunities to worship together with those with whom we will praise Him eternally.

I grew up attending churches that had 3-4 services each week. It seems normal to me. That doesn't mean that I don't recognize that to some who grew up differently, four church meetings every week could seem like too much of a good thing. But my background, combined with what I see in the scripture and in the world around me, does mean that I don't agree with the idea that four services a week is too much.

We don't take up offerings at every church gathering. That happens only once a week, on Sunday mornings. My motivation for wanting to meet together with God's people is the same as it was before I became a pastor: it is a blessing and an encouragement to my heart; it is an opportunity to be a source of blessing and encouragement to others. That is what Hebrews 10:25 is talking about. Church is not business in the usual sense of the word. Church is ministering one to another.

But...four services a week? Yes. And my observations, amassed during more than 35 years of being a pastor, as well as the years before, convince me that those who include the full church schedule in their personal schedule do better overall than those who do not. Consistency in this aspect of spiritual things, like consistency in going to work, or consistency in eating regularly, or consistency in getting enough rest, etc., is good and healthy and wholesome for us.

One more thought: Over time, if a pastor/Bible-teacher truly seeks the Lord about what He would have said to His people, the things spoken from the pulpit become a kind of ongoing course or education in the word and the will of God for that people.

Many years ago, as a rebellious teenager, I developed the bad habit of skipping school. Not surprisingly, if I happened to be in class for a test, there was likely to be material on the test that was totally unfamiliar to me. In courses like geometry or a foreign language, where the course built upon itself, basing new material on what had already been presented, skipping class very often pretty well assured failure. My school record from back then reflects that reality.

Neglecting to meet with God's people may not be a matter of never going to church. It may be a matter of skipping often enough and for reasons irrelevant enough that the overall picture of what God is saying to the local assembly will not be recognized. Sermons and Bible studies will not be a part of a broader course or education in the word and the will of God. Much will be missed. Something will be lost. Sermons that are actually part of a bigger pattern and picture will become standalone events—good, perhaps; useful, perhaps; enjoyable, perhaps; but stripped of that broader context.

I would encourage you to prayerfully, carefully consider what "Not neglecting—as some habitually do—to meet together" really means, what it really means to engage in this activity "all the more since you can see the day of Christ approaching."