Ernie wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 8:16 am
Soloist wrote: ↑Thu Jul 13, 2023 7:45 amErnie would you be willing to have your services on a different day to share a building?
Yes, however, I don't know of any conservative Anabaptists who use their buildings all day long every Sunday. So, until that becomes a reality, the question is not very front and center in mind.
No of course not. There is however a point to asking the question. West coast Mennonites tend to have services on Sunday evening and when we chop up the time block we end up with something like this:
0930-1300 morning service
1730-2030 evening service
Time overlap is due to social interaction and estimated turn over time.
That would leave a slot for a sunrise service which most people do not do except on Easter, a mid day service which would be a dramatic change for anyone, or a late evening service which would only appeal to night shift workers.
When you consider the times… the point is quite obvious.
More thoughts…
I think the early church precedent is to meet in homes on a regular basis and use other buildings for special occasions, larger gatherings, joint services, etc. Many Christians have employed this model all over the world for nearly two millenniums and I think it is a very successful model.
I think the early church didn’t have buildings certainly not common and meeting in homes for everything was more common.
I prefer meeting on Sundays.
As long as believers can meet in homes on Sunday, I don't particularly care what day of the week larger gatherings are held. If everyone normally met in homes, church buildings could be used by multiple groups on Sunday and other days throughout the week.
As noted by several people, the church at home model has some serious problems and you either sacrifice leadership that knows it’s members, or have multiple small churches with all the problems to stability that come with it.
If meeting in homes was forbidden by the government, but meeting in religious/commercial buildings was permitted, I would have no problem meeting on another day of the week if needed. (as long as the government didn't dictate matters pertaining to the organization and teaching of the church)
I’d be more inclined to start meeting in homes if they did that.
During times of persecution, churches have met on random days of the week, in the middle of the night, etc. I think Jesus made it clear how and where true worship happens.
I don’t feel any need to rebuke seventh day worshippers for meeting on Saturday, unless they make it a test of communion or orthopraxy.
How did “ Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. ” turn into once a week with occasionally an extra meeting?
This is one area the JWs do very well at last I heard…
We have done a poor job of supporting one another as we have church, and we have family. We go to church, we have family. We tithe to church, we share with family. We attend church, we fellowship with family.