New
New
Year 10
Edexcel B

The local church and community

I can explain the role and importance of the Church and churches in the local community.

New
New
Year 10
Edexcel B

The local church and community

I can explain the role and importance of the Church and churches in the local community.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Church, with a capital C, refers to the community of Christian believers, commonly referred to as the Body of Christ.
  2. Church with a lowercase "c" is usually used to refer to the place of worship, or a local church and congregation.
  3. The Church is often referred to as the Body of Christ because of unity and action among believers.
  4. The Church is often involved in local projects, outreach work and charity and local churches play a vital role in this.
  5. With the support of local churches, the Church supports local communities through food banks.

Keywords

  • Church - referring to a building in which Christians worship

  • Church - the People of God/Body of Christ, among whom Christ is present and active; members of a particular Christian denomination/tradition, eg Roman Catholic Church

  • Ecumenism - efforts by Christians of different Church traditions to develop closer relationships and better understandings

  • Food banks - places in local communities where people in need can go to collect food; often run/supported by local churches and religious charities

Common misconception

The Church is the Christian place of worship.

Church with a capital "C" refers to the community of Christian believers, and church with a lower case "c" refers to the Christian place of worship and often local churches and their congregations.


To help you plan your year 10 religious education lesson on: The local church and community, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You may wish to contextualise the verse from 1 Peter by sharing 1 Peter 5:1–4 with students.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Christians believe God is benevolent, which means all-loving.

Correct Answer: omni, Omni

Q2.
Which of these shows how Christians can follow Jesus’ teaching?

Correct answer: doing good works to help others
only attending church services
gaining as much wealth as possible

Q3.
What do Christians believe about Jesus’ resurrection?

Jesus stayed dead and was buried.
Correct answer: Jesus rose from the dead after three days.
Jesus was taken to heaven without dying.

Q4.
What does the Apostles’ Creed say about God the Father?

Correct answer: He is the Creator of heaven and earth.
He only appeared after Jesus was born.
He is less powerful than Jesus.

Q5.
What is the Christian view about the mission of Jesus?

to collect donations for the temple
to build large churches around the world
Correct answer: to bring salvation and share God’s message

Q6.
The Holy Spirit came to the disciples at , after Jesus’ ascension.

Correct Answer: Pentecost, pentecost

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Christians believe the Church is the of Christ, working together as Jesus’ hands and feet.

Correct Answer: Body, body

Q2.
In the Parable of the and the Goats, Jesus teaches that helping others is a duty.

Correct Answer: Sheep, sheep

Q3.
Jesus said, “I was thirsty, and you gave me a .”

Correct Answer: drink, Drink

Q4.
What is one way local churches show support to their communities?

Correct answer: offering social events
running theme parks
opening sports centres

Q5.
What does the word ‘church’ with a lowercase ‘c’ usually mean?

the worldwide Christian community
Correct answer: the Christian place of worship
the Bible and other sacred texts

Q6.
What does ecumenism encourage among Christians?

building larger church buildings
giving more money to one denomination
Correct answer: bringing different Christian traditions closer