Continuing on with the letter from John MacArthur, pastor-teacher on Grace to You.
Most commonly, people don't identify with the church and associate it with spiritual health, growth, and usefulness because they've never belonged to one that had anything more than a superficial commitment to biblical truth. They've never seen a biblically centered, serious-minded model of ministry at work in a real-life, flesh-and-bone setting. They don't see its significance because they haven't been fed well enough to understand what a church is meant to be and do.
Someone might think that's where the ministry of Grace to You comes in. They'd say we're here to step in and do what the church can't or won't. But they would be wrong. (emphasis in original)
I love the church and have joyfully given my life to it. It is the one institution the Lord built and promised to bless. And whatever misrepresentations there are in this world about the church, and whatever weaknesses exist within the true body, that doesn't diminish the Savior's commitment to His bride, nor does it derail His promises. There is no plan B and there are no substitutes.
By God's design, the church is the center of every believer's spiritual life. It is where we study, feed, grow, train, correct, comfort, partake in the ordinances, and minister the one-anothers. The church was given for our protection, instruction, discipline, and equipping. It is lighthouse, greenhouse, hospital, classroom, and crucible. It is not an optional path among many, nor is it merely an aid to our spiritual life--it is central.
As a ministry, Grace to You has no delusions about our place in God's economy. We are not somehow doing what the church cannot, we are not a competitor, and we are not a viable alternative. We are part of the church, serving in support of the church.
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