"FOR WHERE TWO OR THREE
GATHER TOGETHER IN MY NAME
THERE AM I WITH THEM..."
This is the passage most often used by the United Methodist Church Ministers with whom I spent my morning on Sundays at the request of my parents, to justify the necessity of attending Church... but, as you can easily see, NOWHERE is there a command or instruction to be in Church. If fact, according to this passage, I could be in my vehicle, outside on my deck, on the battlefield in Vietnam, or at Myrtle Beach as long as there were one perhaps two others who were gathering in HIS NAME.
This is a CALL TO WORSHIP... not to attend CHURCH...
Back in the time of Jesus, the Synagogues (our modern Church so to speak) were located in the cities and not everyone lived in those urban areas and did not have a Synagogue to attend in order to worship... so, Jesus was telling the people of his day, that they did not need a Synagogue in which to worship but they could do so in HIS NAME where there were two or three present.
And... while this does not indicate that an individual could worship alone, I am sure that was also possible since Jesus prayed to HIS FATHER all the time when he was alone. Jesus wanted to encourage gatherings.
