It is hard to improve on the pattern set by the very first church at Jerusalem. Acts 2:41-42 gives the details: “So then, those who had received His word were baptized and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” We see from these verses the essential functions of the local assembly: evangelism, instruction in the Word, participation in the ordinances, prayer, and fellowship. Intertwined within these would be worship and edification. These activities defined the New Testament church, and distinguished it from a social club or political rally.

– Gary Gilley