Some local churches focus on reaching out to the community around them. Giving practical goodwill gifts door to door, organizing clean ups for homes of the elderly, starting a child care or tuition program for children- just meeting needs. Such churches are being the church, not just going to church. I read a report of how many churches across the USA did a creative campaign on Faith in Action Sunday to remind the church to not just go to church, but BE THE CHURCH:

Pews were empty as Christians across the country wore their white and orange “Don’t Go to Church. Be The Church” shirts in observance of Faith in Action Sunday on Oct. 11. “The shirts make a statement that I think most Christians want to make—that we really do care about more than just what’s happening in our building,” said Shelly Langley of Cloudbreak Church in San Diego, Calif. A collaborative effort between Outreach Inc. and World Vision, the annual campaign encourages churchgoers each year to shift their focus from themselves to others. Churches that have participated over the last several years testify that the campaign has helped moved their “inactive” members to become active and involved. “Our Faith in Action campaign is helping us transform our congregation into a church that is motivated to help our community and strive to grow in Jesus’ image,” said the Rev. Todd Lackie of Kenwood Church of Christ in Livonia, Mich. “A church that puts its faith into action focuses not on itself, but living out Christ’s teaching and his divine example of compassion.” Steve Haas, vice president for church relations at World Vision, says Faith in Action “is designed to be one step towards alleviating the complacency that is afflicting churches across the country, and an effective call to action to follow Christ’s example of compassion.” Organizers of Faith in Action maintain that campaign participants are not canceling worship: “Worship was never to be confined to a single time of a single day during the week, but a whole body experience of faithful obedience to a risen Christ,” said Haas. (Christian Post, 10/12/09)