With so many types of churches and "Christian" namesake organisations in the world, it's unfortunate (to say the least) that such division of teaching and practice exists. Particularly for those seeking to investigate the faith or join a church, how are they to pick the "correct" one?
The church is made out of humans, and humans are flawed. No church is perfect. But we hope this section of the website will shed a light on how we at the gospel halls in Orkney seek to follow the principles set out in the New Testament.
We believe it makes the most sense to refer to the Bible: observing how the Christians lived-out their faith back then and practising what the Bible teaches. After all, if you were seeking to worship God on a Sunday morning and it turned out He had already told you how to go about doing that... wouldn't it make sense to listen?
It’s fair enough to hold a negative view of religion; hypocrisy, abuse, politics and ceremony are all attributes one might associate with the concept of religion. Some say that “true Christianity” is a relationship rather than a religion, and that may be true, but we believe one reason behind these negative aspects is simply that “organised religion” as we know it is flawed. Flawed in that it’s made up of fallible humans and flawed in that the Bible doesn’t teach or call for “organised religion”.
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Independent, no hierarchy, no minister
Orkney’s gospel halls are independent of one another. There is no hierarchy, no chain of command, no HQ and certainly no infallible or global leader (Jesus teaches against such things in Matt 20:25-26). At its core a gospel hall is simply a place where a bunch of Christians assemble, hence they’re sometimes called assemblies.
Each gospel hall typically has multiple elders, rather than the idea of a single minister or leader. Not only does this have the advantage of avoiding problems associated with power, but the bible only teaches two roles within a church: elders and deacons… no central figure.
In short, elders guide their church and deacons serve it. The two are not entirely mutually exclusive though, for example elders serve the church by leading, teaching, counselling etc and deacons might lead others in service and other acts of ministering.
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Elders/leadership in an assembly of believers
In his farewell to the elders at Ephesus, Paul acknowledged that it was the Holy Spirit that appointed them (Acts 20:28). It isn’t family lines of succession, connections with the “right people” or the notion of working one’s way into the position of an elder. Instead, leaders are recognised by the believers because the leaders possess the qualifications and do the work.
The qualifications of an elder can be found in 1 Tim 3:2-7. Titus 2:2-3 and 1 Tim 4:12 show that you don’t necessarily need to be old to be an elder; but it’s clear that elders must be spiritually mature (1 Tim 3:6).
Jesus instructed against the practice of using honorific titles like "reverend" or "father" (Matt 23:8-10) and so anyone that does serve as an elder isn't given any special addressing, they serve alongside the church not above it.
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No "service", no routine, no ritual
Gospel halls do not hold “services” so to speak, rather, we call them “meetings”. This is because that’s simply what they are… a bunch of Christians meeting together! There is no pre-planned schedule, no order of service, no liturgy, no ceremony. In this manner, worship is more natural and authentic, rather than itemised or impersonal.
Knowledge of the beginning of assemblies in Orkney is rather scant but it was during the early 1870s that they began and it is known that the assembly on the island of Westray was in existence in 1868 being the first to be established in Orkney. It came into being through the ministry of a Mr. Hopkins who visited the island and it was shortly after that the other assemblies began around Orkney.
In Kirkwall, the meeting was originally in a property on Shore Street. In 1880 a property was built on Victoria Street consisting of the hall on the upper floor and a shop on the lower floor which provided an income for building expenses.
In the beginning of the twentieth century there was a thriving Sunday School with over 90 names on the roll and 12 teachers. The Sunday School in those days was a very fruitful area of evangelism and many of the children came to know Christ as Saviour. The years during the war were also memorable times of blessing as many of the forces’ servicemen came to the gospel meetings and quite a number were saved.
In 1967 the downstairs shop was vacated and refurbished into an additional smaller hall, a kitchen, toilets and cloak rooms. A baptistry was also constructed, whereas previously these took place in the sea.
As time went by, with fire and parking regulations becoming more of a problem it became clear that a new location was required and in 1989 a former restaurant/pool room in the east-end of Kirkwall came onto the market. Fitting all the requirements perfectly for the assembly meetings, an offer was submitted and believers across mainland Orkney continue to gather there to this day.
A traditional church service involves a minister or leader going through a schedule to an audience, usually consisting of said leader praying, a few songs and leading up to the main event: the sermon. The term “service” seems fitting in this sense. Whereas the early church met/operated together and this fits more with the idea that we should simply be Christians meeting one another.
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Why Sunday?
The Bible records that the early church met together to break bread on the first day of the week, which is Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:2). In Acts 20 for example, the apostle Paul had arrived at Troas the previous Monday and although his journey was an urgent one, he waited until the next Sunday to meet with the entire church there and break bread. Certainly, there’s no harm meeting on any day, it just seems that the early Christians met together on the first day of the week and that practice has continued.
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Why the morning?
The ’breaking of bread’ was instituted by Jesus during a Jewish Passover meal at night (1 Cor 11:23) and Acts 20:7-8 seems to support that the ‘breaking of bread’ meeting was indeed held in the evening. However other than this, the only instruction given by Jesus was simply that his disciples keep the practice often (1 Cor 11:26). It’s likely that the reason most places have the ‘breaking of bread’ meeting in the morning, comes from the idea that collective worship should take priority, as the first thing done that day.
The purpose of this meeting is to remember Jesus in worship, prayer and encouragement before sharing bread and wine as per His instructions (Luke 22:19-20, 1 Cor 11:23-25).
It’s a little tricky to quickly summarise the purpose of the bread and wine, but in short the bread symbolises Jesus’ body which was broken and crucified as a sacrifice for sin, the cup represents the new covenant between God and mankind, a covenant accomplished through the sacrificial blood of Christ.
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Where does it happen?
Within the hall. Some gospel halls have their chairs laid out around the table with the bread and wine, others have their chairs facing the front (as is the case in Orkney at the moment).
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Who takes part and how?
The bible clarifies that one should examine themselves before breaking the bread/drinking the cup, and as such this part of the meeting is for Christians (1 Cor 11:27-30).
Regarding the meeting in general, there’s no singular leader or minister. The role of leading worship in a mixed-gender meeting is a responsibility the men take, in line with what the bible teaches regarding church settings in 1 Tim 2:12. Apart from this one stipulation, all believers take part in worship.
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What takes place?
Song and prayer is the most visible form of worship that take places at most meetings. There are numerous verses that encourage believers to sing and pray; throughout the entire Bible we see examples and exhortations to do so. The Bible even records Jesus and the disciples singing at what is known as the Last Supper (Matt 26:3), so it’s entirely fitting to do so at the breaking of bread meeting.
There’s no set schedule or pre-dictated liturgy: songs chosen are thus authentic expressions of praise, and prayers reflect the genuine concerns and worship of those gathered. As a result, the atmosphere or vibe can vary from meeting to meeting.
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Why even have a building?
The main, in some cases only, reason the building exists is to allow for capacity. When the number of Christians meeting together in a local area grows, it becomes impractical to continue meeting in houses. So a small hall allows these gatherings to continue, and allows perhaps for other features a venue affords.
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Why "gospel hall"
Kinda does what it says on the tin! The building’s main room is a hall, and inside that building the gospel is preached.
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Building appearance and vibe
Gospel halls are typically unassuming in appearance. How can anyone justify spending money on fancy towering buildings and grand architecture when there is much need in the world? Likewise, you will not find stage lights, effects or ambient music that only serves to incite emotions; in this way the atmosphere is authentic and not manipulated.
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Money
It is tragic that financial abuse under the name-sake of “Christianity” occurs today. “Ministries”, particularly on TV, that claim God will bless those who send in their money are still a problem. As is the idea that being a Christian necessarily brings you happiness, wealth and things associated with “living your best life”. Whilst some of these might turn out to be true for you, the motive in pursuing God for the sake of these, isn’t right.
Turning to the Bible, we see the early Christians shared resources to meet the needs of their fellow believers (Acts 4:32). The practice today of sending money elsewhere is based off the reality that there is genuine need elsewhere (1 John 3:17). Our income could be better spent for God helping Christians and missionaries in other parts of the world, rather than any comfort or luxury we ourselves would use it for.
Gospel halls typically avoid fundraising, preferring to steward whatever money God has given us wisely and sacrificially rather than taking money from others. We only bring out the collection box for the ‘breaking of bread’ meeting, where Christians attending may choose to discreetly give as God has prospered them (1 Cor 16:2). Visitors are thus not expected to gift money.