Gospel Hall
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A Gospel Hall is a building of worship, prayer, and preaching for certain non-denominational Christians commonly known as Plymouth Brethren. The Church is group of fundamentalist Christians who gather at the Gospel Hall every Sunday, and meet some other time during the week for prayer and Bible reading. There are often two gatherings every Sunday; one in the morning for worship and one in the evening for Gospel preaching. It is also not uncommon to hold a Sunday School meeting on that day.
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[edit] Structure
The Church consists of everyone who have accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour, been baptised, and have been accepted into fellowship. Gospel Hall assemblies are normally led by several co-equal elders. The elders are responsible for what happens in the assembly before God. On the other side of the assembly is a business regulated by a treasurer, a president, and possibly a vice president. The administration of the assembly business varies from one assembly to another. For example, in the UK a Gospel Hall would often have trustees responsible for the upkeep of the building. Everyone who is in the assembly is responsible for some part of what happens with the Church and the Gospel Hall.
[edit] Events
Sunday Morning Worship
Every week on Sunday morning the Gospel Hall is scheduled to have a morning meeting. It is also known as "Sunday worship" or "Breaking of Bread." During this meeting Saints or Christians in the Gospel Hall Assembly meet to give prayer and sing hymns. In some Gospel Halls the Scriptures are also often read during the meeting. After an hour or so of worship a man will rise to give thanks for the bread, and a loaf of bread will passed around to be taken as a remembrance of the Lord Jesus's body. Then another man will rise and give thanks for the wine, and a glass of wine will be passed around to be taken as a remembrance of the Lord Jesus' blood. In some assemblies it is the practice for the same man to give thanks both for the bread and the wine. After this a basket or some sort of container will be passed around to collect money from the Christians in fellowship. In some assemblies this is commonly followed by a word of ministry to the other Christians, and with a closing prayer the meeting is done.
The Sunday School sometimes follows directly after the Breaking of Bread meeting, with a short intervening break. The Sunday School will typically include both children of the Christians who meet at the Gospel Hall and children of the neighborhood. A separate Bible Class for the adults sometimes takes place in parallel with the Sunday School: sometimes this is effectively a ministry meeting; sometimes it is a bible study in which all the males are welcome to take part.
Gospel Meeting
Every Sunday night or during a time after the morning meeting the Saints gather again to participate in a Gospel meeting. This is where the word of God is opened and men and women are taught how to have salvation. A common verse from the Bible used in a Gospel meeting is John 3:16. The meeting generally begins with singing of hymns and a prayer. Then a man will get up to the platform and preach the Gospel. After he is finished another man will rise to the platform to preach and in closing he will pray, and give out a hymn to sing (commonly one verse of a hymn.) Each meeting is usually one hour long and there may be more than one preacher per Gospel meeting. Quite commonly in some countries, including the UK, one man will take the whole meeting. Sometimes one or two missionaries or Christian men will want to have Gospel meetings in a certain location, so they will preach on Sunday or on every day of the week.
Prayer Meeting/Bible Study
During a day of the week, the Saints will meet again to have a prayer meeting and Bible reading. Often this meeting would be replaced with a ministry meeting, which is when one Christian gives spiritual advice to other Christians. During the prayer meeting the Saints will gather to pray for things happening in the world and for people they know. After this is a Bible reading where the Saints will read from the Bible and try to observe on its teaching. Usually they continue reading where they left off last time they came to meet for Bible reading. After the Bible study a man will rise to give a prayer and close the meeting.
