God has a plan for everything. But his plans are often in ways we don’t expect – leaving us at times scratching our heads asking, “Why did God do it like that?” Nothing could be more true than when we think about the ‘church’. Which of us could have imagined that the best way to spread a message of hope and create a movement of disciple-making would be through uniting a group of people with virtually nothing in common and often at odds with one another?

Yet, the more we understand about the church – the Bride of Christ – the more surprised we are by how wonderful God’s plan really is. As we study Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we’ll discover together not only the nature and purpose for the church – but how essential the church is for every follower of Jesus.