CHURCH noun.

1. a building for public Christian worship.
2. public worship of God or a religious service in such a building: to attend church regularly.
3. ( sometimes initial capital letter ) the whole body of Christian believers; Christendom.
4. ( sometimes initial capital letter ) any division of this body professing the same creed and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a Christian denomination: the Methodist Church.
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So I was showering and thinking of some things that has happened the past week while singing some worship songs. So suddenly it struck me, what is church to people around me? As much as I hope the answer won't be "a place to find friends" or "a place I go because I have no choice", I cannot deny that there are some people out there that will give these replies. I think that church is something more. So what is church to me? Let me use the acronym to explain.

C - Christ
Definitely, church is a place where I come to know Christ and a place where I hear His word. Church is also from the word 'Christ' itself. So the church is also the body of Christ. If a church is not about Christ, then why else would it be called a church? It would be just another organization where people come together to sing songs and have fun. Hence, going back to church is going back to Christ.

H - Home
To me, my church is my home. It is a place where I feel comfortable and I feel loved by the people around me. I can be who I am when I am at church, it is also a place where I want to stay because the people accepts me for who I am and people care for me. The church is like a big family, a big body, an army of Christ.

U - Unending grace
Church is a place I experience grace and mercy from God and also from the people around me. I learn new things and I make mistakes along the way, but everything is okay. :)

R - Relationships
Needless to say, church is a place of relationships. Not only relationship with one another, but also relationship with God. Going to church help me to build my spiritual relationship with Jesus and also my relationship with my friends around me. Indeed, church is a place where I get to know many friends, but it is also a place where I get tested when I need to do things on my own and I have to depend on God. Many people stay in church because of the relationship with people, but I feel that the more important relationship is the one with God because people can fail us, but our God is a God that never fails.

C - Change
It's a place where I am changed for the better. Every single times I experience a touch from heaven, something inside of me changes. I grow from glory to glory over the years, my habits change. This is also why I believe that it is important to go to church with a open heart, and be willing to be changed by God at any point of time and not just to take everything as a routine. We should also be prepared for a change!

H - Holy Spirit
Church is a place where I get filled with the Holy Spirit, where I experience this fullness that I can never find elsewhere. It is a place (but not the only place) where the Holy Spirit speaks to me. It is also a place where I can see the works of the Holy Spirit in the lives of other people.

THIS is church to me, what about you?