Is it scriptural for the church to provide baby-sitting service for such events as "mothers' day out"? 1. First, this raises the question as to what is the work of the church. God has assigned the church the work of evangelism (1 Thess. 1:8), edification (Eph. 4:14-16) and benevolence (1 Cor. 16:1,2). The church has no authority to be involved in recreation and/or entertainment. 2. Quotations: "Many schemes have been laid out and plans formulated by men to carry out the work of the Lord. If people would scheme less and study more, plan less and obey God more, conditions spiritually would improve. What the NT teaches is not difficult to understand, but men are vain enough to think they can improve on it. We hear of suppers, parties, and programs to raise money for the Lord. Just at the time when the sectarian world has failed in its claptrap methods of religious work and worship and is ready to give it up, shall the church of Christ take up their schemes and lose her greatest opportunity? Churches are building fine meetinghouses and equipping them like hotels. Here they meet, not for worship, but to eat and have a social time. None of these tend to spirituality. These things, perhaps, may hold the time servers and pleasure lovers, but will not promote the spirituality of the church" (The Life and Works of C.M. Pullias, pg.68). "For the church to turn aside from its divine work to furnish amusement and recreation is to pervert its mission. It is to degrade its mission. Amusement and recreation should stem from the home rather than the church. The church, like Nehemiah, has a great work to do; and it should not come down on the plains of Ono to amuse and entertain. As the church turns its attention to amusement and recreation, it will be shorn of its power as Samson was when his hair was cut. Only as the church becomes worldly, as it pillows its head on the lap of Delilah, will it want to turn from its wonted course to relatively unimportant matters. Imagine Paul selecting and training a group of brethren to compete in the Isthmian games! Of his work at Corinth he said: "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (B.C. Goodpasture, Gospel Advocate, May, 1948, p.484). "Again I say to you, with caution and thought, that it is not the work of the church to furnish entertainment for the members. And yet many churches have drifted into such effort, They enlarge their basement, put in all kinds of gymnastic apparatus, and make every sort of an appeal to the young people of the congregation. I have never read anything in the Bible that indicated to me that such was a part of the work of the church. I am wholly ignorant of any Scripture that even points in that direction" (N.B. Hardeman, Tabernacle Sermons, 1942) "Building recreation rooms and providing and supervising recreational activities at the expense of the church is a departure from the simple gospel plan as revealed in the NT. The church might as well relieve the parents of feeding and disciplining all the young people at church expense as to take over the job of entertaining and supervising their recreation at church expense. Be sure to get a clear conception of the duties of the home as contrasted with the duties of the church in the matter of recreation. To confuse the two realms of activity will involve us in absurdities (GA Commentary, 1951, p.229)