When I was a little girl, I watched my parents take refuge in the church time and time again as our family went through the series of difficult events following my brother's girlfriend having a daughter when they were 15 years old. This teenage pregnancy really seemed to shape the way my family acted, but they always found strength through the church. When my niece turned two, my older sister had her first son at 17, and the year following that, my brother had another child. By the time I was six years old, I was a very proud little aunt of three. Being so young, I didn't understand these things. I could observe them though. I remember watching my parents at church, observing their community and the support they had received. I remember the pastor giving me left over communion bread because it was my favorite. I learned from my parents actions that the church was much more than a building. Many people need to take the first steps themselves. This can be a really hard thing to do, for there are many misconceptions about the church. And even though I was the ultimate lover of church as a little girl, many things began to change in my teenage years, and I began to believe the misconceptions about the church. When I was a freshman in highschool, I invited a friend to church, and she said the place would burst into flames if she stepped foot inside. Have any of you ever heard something like that? Phrases like: "Church is only for good people," or, "I'm not good enough for church." And it is possible that we, ourselves, have felt as though we are not good enough for church. I know I have. There are many other misconceptions about the church, such as people only go because they want to go to Heaven, or that "good works" through the church will get one into Heaven. Another misconception is that attending church is a requirement for salvation, or that tithing or offering will buy your way into Heaven. With all of these misconceptions about the church, come misconceptions about the people who go to church. Such as Christians not being allowed to have fun, that the church is full of hypocrites, or that Christians should be perfect. But, what really is the church? It is extremely important that we understand what the church is. Corinthians 12:14 tells us that you must have 2 or more people to make a church. The church is not a building, the church is a group of people who name Jesus as Savior and Lord. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says: So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal. The physical building of the church is seen and is temporary. The body of Christ, his people and the spirit he moves through them, is eternal. Colossians 1:18 says: Jesus is the head of the Church, and his presence in our midst makes the church, Gods people, holy. There is a misconception that the church is just a building, the walls, the pews, the Bibles ¦ the list goes on. The church is Holy place that God has set aside for us, his people, to go. The church is a home fo