This is not an existential question that I’m asking here.  Why does your church exist at all?  If you asked the people who attend your church why it exists, I wonder what the answer would be.  Have you ever tried this?

I asked this question a lot when we were in Finland back a couple of years ago.  I received a variety of answers.  What I learned from it was that the church didn’t know why it existed – it just has existed for a long time.  This was a question that the church was struggling with as its influence in the Finnish society was declining.  There were individuals who were working to provide focus, were listening to what God was doing in Finland, were discerning what God was calling the church to do and be.

But how about where you are?  Why does your church exist?  If you asked 50 people in your congregation, would you get 50 different answers?  Would you get 2-3 answers?  Would you get a bunch of “I don’t know” answers?

Why does your church exist?