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St. Michael Le Belfry Evening Service

The biblical model of what church means is a far cry from what most people in the twentieth century (including Christians) experience. Yet the problem is that most of us do not realise this. When we speak of ‘going to church’ we are referring to a building and a service of a specified length. When we say, for example, “St. Mike’s is a good church”, we are referring to the particular services we have attended. The church is the body of Christ, and this makes it difficult — even wrong — to write a review of it. However …

I am the first to admit that I have been guilty of being one of the crowd of students who go to St. Mike’s on a Sunday evening ‘for a kick’, to put it bluntly. I am now very fortunate to be part of a church which seeks to emulate the biblical example of the early church. The New Testament churches were concerned with relationships, community and the equal value of each member: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” Paul writes to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 12:27).

Every time I now go to St. Mike’s I find myself asking “for how many of these students is this one weekly service their only contact with church?”. Sadly, I have been here long enough to know that this is the situation for many students. Is it therefore any wonder that as Christian students we are not living radical lives for Jesus or affecting any real change on this campus? We are immature and ineffective because we have not grasped that the environment God has provided for us to mature spiritually in is the Church. It is NOT the Christian Union, it is not MethAng, it is not Cassoc. It is the Church.

I have much admiration for David White, the vicar of St. Mike’s, and for all his staff. I have often heard them try to inject a little enthusiasm into the congregation: “Hello, is there anybody there?” they say in desperation. And yet there are several hundred people in that church. David White is clearly convinced that the church need to be a radical people and he preaches this, which is excellent. The worship groups, too, are very talented and provide the congregation with wonderful songs with which to worship God. St. Mike’s is a church which has seen the power of God, and long may this continue. But this depends on each church member (and if you are a Christian you need to be a member of a church). “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” Paul writes (1 Corinthians 12:26), and this is what I see happening at St. Mike’s. The church is suffering because some of its congregation are not committed. Church is about getting involved, being a family; a friend told me that her church was referred to by a child as “your family of Christians”. “Wake up, Church!”, as David White would say; if you don’t feel part of a “family of Christians”, it’s time to do something about it.

Kristin Malet

Last modified: 25th November 2005