Beliefs & Governing Policies

One Assembly – The Single Gathering of CVBC

A Clarification:
The document below has not been fully applied to CVBC as of yet. In the spring of 2024, the elders of CVBC announced a long-term desire to become a “One Assembly” church. This will take many years before it comes to fruition. So as of now, CVBC continues to have 2 services. The document below contains the biblical and theological reasons for the future change.

Over the last year (2023-2024), the elders have been studying the doctrinal topic of the church. More specifically, we have been studying what it means to gather together as a local church. All of the elders at CVBC have come to the same conclusion that one of the ways for CVBC to live out the biblical idea of church unity is to become a single-service church. As in, we will only have one church service every Sunday morning. We believe this is displayed in Scripture and will be a sanctifying change for us as it will help us live out the biblical idea of a church more fully. We believe this will only enhance our love for God and love for others. Below, we will summarize our biblical reasoning. This decision came about through studying, praying, and discussing God’s Word. We want to make clear that we are not saying that churches who do not share this conviction are less of a church. We will continue to prayerfully support and love and partner with churches that have multiple services. We simply believe as we have read the Bible and studied it, that this is a unifying and faithful step for CVBC.

The Reasons:

Biblical Reasons: 

  1. Ekklesia: The biblical word used for the word church is ekklesia which is a classical Greek term (that predates the New Testament) that means assembly or gathering. The New Testament authors borrow this word from classical Greek when talking about the church to reveal that part of what defines a local church is its single-gathering nature. A church is more than simply its gathering together. But it is definitely not less than that. By choosing the word ekklesia, the New Testament authors are revealing that part of the unifying nature of the church is its gathering all together. This word was chosen specifically to emphasize the importance of the entire body worshipping and being involved together. So, when we read the English word, “Church” we must note that it finds its meaning and origin in the Greek word Ekklesia. A church is a people who gather together.

    There are many passages in the New Testament that emphasize the importance of the entire church gathering together. Some use the word eklessia/Church and others are talking about the ekklesia/Church. For example: Matthew 18:17-20; Acts 2:41-47; Acts 6:2; 11:26; 14:23; Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 5:12-6:4; 11:16 11:18; 1 Cor. 14:4-5, 14:19; Colossians 4:15-16; Philemon 2; 3 John 6, 9).

    The church is more than its gathering. We continue to be the church and members of it when we leave the church building on Sundays. We are a set-apart people who belong to the Universal church and to CVBC. However, by using the word ekklesia (assembly/gathering), the New Testament authors are emphasizing that our gathering all together is integral to our identity. 

  2. The Unique Presence of Jesus: According to Matthew 18:20, Jesus is uniquely present when the church gathers together. - For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

    We do believe that Jesus is present with all Christians, whether they are alone or with others (Rom. 8:9). Thus, small groups or Bible studies are beneficial and sanctifying! However, Jesus is speaking in regard to the actual gathering of a church in Matthew 18:20. In 18:17, he uses the word ekklesia/Church to give us the proper context. This passage is not referring to any time that a group of Christians gather. Rather, it is speaking to the unique presence of Jesus that is found when the ekklesia/Church assembles together in worship. The Bible calls the church to worship Him through acts like singing, praying, preaching, the ordinances, and practicing church discipline. When these worship practices are practiced by the whole assembly, Jesus’s presence is there. This is encouraging that when God’s people gather together in whole, the presence of Jesus is with us!

    **For further understanding of point 1 and 2, see One Assembly by Jonathan Leeman or listen to this helpful podcast: Rethinking Multiservice and Multisite Church from the Crossway Podcast.

  3. Ordinances: Biblically, both the Lord’s Supper and Baptism were given to local churches to be experienced by the entire church at one time in one place. Baptism is a one-time act of an individual Christian where they profess their faith in Jesus Christ AND are welcomed by the ekklesia/church. Baptism is not just an immersion into water but an immersion into the ekklesia/church (Acts 2:41; 1 Cor. 12:13). Thus, to baptize someone at the 9:00 service means that the 10:30 portion of the church misses out. Also, the Lord’s Supper is an act of the whole church to remember the sacrifice of Jesus together. It is a meal of unity that is to be taken together. This is a family meal, where the entire family should be invited to participate at the same time (1 Cor 10:17, 1 Cor. 11:21-23). We believe that God has given the Lord’s Supper to be one of the most instrumental ways that God unifies a church together. So the biblical accounts of the Lord’s Supper are integral to our desire to be a single service church.

  4. The One Anothers: The many commands in the New Testament that call Christians to act Christianly to one another are best lived out in a single-gathering church. We call these commands, The One Anothers. We can more fully and tangibly live out these commands together in our service. Commands like: Rejoice together and weep together (Rom. 12:15) will be best lived out when we pray during the service in unity together. Or the command to Sing together (Col 3:16) will be fully lived out as the entire congregation can sing at one time and in one place.

  5. Biblical Metaphors: The metaphors chosen to describe both the universal and local church should encourage us to gather together in one service. Metaphors such as The Body (Eph. 5:22-33), the Household of God (1 Tim. 3:14-15), and a Flock (Acts 20:28). The simple meaning of these metaphors reveals the level of unity a church should have together. A body is to not be separated. A household is to function together. A flock is called to move in unity. We believe that these metaphors further prove that the most faithful way a church can gather is by gathering together at one time.

Church History Reasons:

  1. Prior to the 20th century, churches did not have multiple Sunday morning services. There is no historical or theological precedent that churches from the 1st century through the 19th century ever added a second Sunday morning service. It was not until the 1920s that churches began to add and promote an additional service for the purpose of not turning any one away. See this article for more.

  2. Regarding the history of CVBC, CVBC was a single gathering church for most of its history. It was not until a period of numerical growth (1990s) where a second service was added to accommodate the people. Years after a second service was added, there was a brief period where a 3rd service (on a Saturday night) was added too. The reasoning for these additional services was to accommodate more people to gather to worship. We believe that this is a good intention that comes from a great heart, but we do not believe it is the most biblically faithful approach to this desire. We want our biblical convictions to lead our intentions and practices. Thus, before we practically plan, we want to be biblically grounded.

Practical Reasons:

  1. More Felt Unity: Through all the congregants gathering together, a real sense of felt-unity will exist. We will truly be able to gather together. We will be able to sing with one voice at one time. We will be able to sit under the same sermon together. We will be partaking of the same bread and cup together. Each member can look around and know that these are their people. There may be more people in the service than before, but there will be a tangible unity.

    To illustrate this: When a family plans a “family reunion”, they do not split the family into two groups and have them meet at different times. Instead, they plan to have the entire family be present together in one location. Similarly, a church is like a weekly family reunion where we gather in the presence of Jesus. And we do not want to miss out on the rest of our family anymore.

  2. More Faithful Shepherding and Community: Through having just one service, the elders will be able to shepherd the members of CVBC more fully. Instead of spreading out the membership among two services, the elders and congregation can know, interact, pray for, and minister to the whole membership. To be as practical as possible, the church leadership can know that at one given time, the fullness of the body of CVBC is present. Which means, none of us will go week not seeing another member who attended the other service.

    Furthermore, the preaching/teaching that occurs in one service can be uniquely different than it is in the other service. To have a multi-service church is to have each service sit under a potentially different sermon and word from God. To gather together then fully fulfills the idea of an entire church sitting under the same word and sermon together.