Question: Is the church encouraging congregations to meet on Sundays? If days don't really matter, why would churches want to switch?

Answer: The new covenant does not demand or forbid any particular day for corporate worship — one day is not inherently better than another. That means that, if no one in a particular church area wants to meet on Saturday, there is no reason for that church area to have Saturday meetings. Congregations may meet on a different day. Some choose to meet on Sundays; some have not.  

Since no one day is inherently better than another, the denomination does not require all congregations to meet on the same day. It is up to each local community of faith to decide on which day to meet for corporate worship. A number of factors may come up for consideration.

1. Since one purpose of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission, which day would be best for attracting new people in the community to worship services? Almost all Christian churches meet on Sunday in the U.S. It is the Christian norm, and therefore is most understandable to the "unchurched" people we would like to bring to Jesus and attract to church. On the other hand, many unchurched people do not have a preference.

2. In some nations, many teens and children are involved in school and community projects, sports, etc. on Saturday, thus making it more difficult for these families to attend a Saturday meeting. Also, some adults work on Saturday. On the other hand, some may work on Sundays.

3. We want to serve the worship needs of our members, and a significant percentage of our members may be unable or unwilling to meet on Saturday or on Sunday. Some may have religious reasons for preferring Saturday, and some may have religious reasons for preferring Sunday.

4. Historical records from the first and second centuries show that Gentiles in the early church met for corporate worship on Sunday, perhaps because they saw a "new creation" in the day of Christ's resurrection. This has been the most common explanation. The New Testament shows that the disciples met at least part of the time on "the first day of the week," i.e. Sunday, for worship.

5. Meeting facilities may be easier to lease on one day or the other.

We allow congregations to change meeting times, locations and days according to local needs. We encourage each congregation to meet on the day that serves its needs and purpose best — whether that be Saturday, Sunday or, in certain unusual situations, another day or evening of the week.