Define Church

"The local church is defined as a local assembly of believers "

"A building used for Public worship"

" the clergy or officialdom of a religious body,
a body or organization of religious believers: "

"Church

The word translated "church" in the English Bible is ekklesia. This word is the Greek words kaleo (to call), with the prefix ek (out). Thus, the word means "the called out ones." However, the English word "church" does not come from ekklesia but from the word kuriakon, which means "dedicated to the Lord."

This word was commonly used to refer to a holy place or temple. By the time of Jerome's translation of the New Testament from Greek to Latin, it was customary to use a derivative of kuriakon to translate ekklesia.

Therefore, the word church is a poor translation of the word ekklesia since it implies a sacred building, or temple.

A more accurate translation would be "assembly" because the term ekklesia was used to refer to a group of people who had been called out to a meeting. It was also used as a synonym for the word synagogue, which also means to "come together," i.e. a gathering.

- See more at: http://www.xenos.org/classes/um1-1a.htm#sthash.YUj4kbYv.dpuf"


"A church building, often simply called a church, is a building used for religious activities, particularly worship services"