[The people] cannot do without a good solid church to attend. They can put their jobs on hold. They can put their schools on hold. They can put the construction of their homes on hold. They can put the purchase of a new chariot on hold. Their family matters and family issues are going to be put on hold. Why? Because they are seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And they know that it is true that through the temple—through the church—the Word of God is going to be administered, the sacrifices are going to be offered, the prayers are going to be offered, and the fellowship of the saints is going to be enjoyed. In other words, their prospective would be much like ours is, or at least ought to be, as we come into a community. Do you want to rear your children in a community where there is not a solid church? What do you think about that prospect? Do you want to move into a new town where there is no solid church for you and your children to attend, for your family to be reared in? Do you want to rear your children without the influence of a godly church, a church that is faithful to God's Word? A church that is faithful to preach the gospel. Do you want to live in that kind of community without that kind of law and gospel witness, without the spiritual foundation and the moral foundation, the religious foundation that a solid church provides for the family, the individual, and the community?

We have referred on other occasions to the church as the indispensable institution. I believe that. I believe that it is the indispensable institution; the one without which we cannot live. And when we are forced to relocate and move into another community, I think it ought to be the very first question that is asked when the opportunity arises: is there a church? A faithful church, a solid church that preaches the gospel? A church in which my family is going to hear the Word read and preached week in and week out for the whole expanse of their life in that community. That is what we cannot do without, and I think that is what these returning exiles are facing. And that is why it has been given that priority. It is that with which they cannot do without. They must have a place for worship. They must have that place where they are able to gather together as the people of God and offer their public worship.¹

Terry L. Johnson