A Gathering of Believers; Ekklesia

When our team members travel to spend time with our Indigenous SIU partners, quite often we are shown some incredible ways that “gatherings of believers” happen without having to meet in a physical building. We like to refer to it as “church at the water well,” “church under a tree,” “church on the back of a camel” (that’s a fun image to picture 😊) or “house church.” The Greek word “ekklesia” is the word often translated as “church” in our modern, English Bibles. In the language of today, the word “church” often means a building where Christians meet for their regular services. The original meaning of the word “ekklesia” refers to an assembly or gathering of believers, not a building where people gather. A basic definition of the New Testament word “ekklesia,” is “those who are called out and assembled together.”