How often should we take communion?
Question 09008
The New Testament commands the church to observe the Lord’s Supper but does not specify how frequently. This has led to considerable variation across Christian traditions, from daily celebration in some Catholic and Orthodox settings to quarterly or even annual observance in some Protestant churches. The absence of a specific command about frequency is itself instructive, but the New Testament does provide enough guidance to shape a thoughtful practice.
What the New Testament Says
Paul’s language in 1 Corinthians 11:25-26 is “as often as you drink it” and “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup.” The phrase “as often as” assumes regular repetition without prescribing a fixed schedule. It tells us that the Supper should be observed repeatedly, but it leaves the specific interval to the church’s wisdom and circumstances. Acts 2:42 records that the earliest believers devoted themselves to “the breaking of bread,” listing it alongside the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, and prayer as a characteristic practice of the gathered community. Acts 20:7 mentions the disciples gathering “on the first day of the week to break bread,” suggesting a weekly pattern in at least some early churches.
The evidence points toward frequent observance. The early church appears to have celebrated the Lord’s Supper regularly, likely weekly in many congregations, as a central rather than peripheral element of their worship. The breaking of bread was not an occasional addition to their meetings; it was woven into the fabric of their corporate life.
The Dangers of Infrequency
When the Lord’s Supper is observed only occasionally, it can take on an air of special occasion that was never intended. It becomes an event rather than a regular practice, something set apart from the normal life of the church rather than integrated into it. This can produce one of two unhelpful tendencies: either it becomes so rare that it loses its significance through unfamiliarity, or it becomes so heavily ceremonialised that the simplicity of the original institution is buried under layers of liturgical elaboration. Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and shared it. The act was embedded in a meal, surrounded by conversation, and conducted with a directness that suggests it was meant to be a regular, accessible part of the church’s shared life.
The Dangers of Mere Routine
Frequency without intentionality carries its own risk. If the Supper is observed so routinely that participants no longer pause to examine themselves, to remember, and to proclaim, then the frequency has not served the purpose. Paul’s warning about eating and drinking in an unworthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:27) applies whether the church observes the Supper weekly, monthly, or quarterly. The answer to routine thoughtlessness is not less frequent observance but more careful preparation of the heart. A church that takes the Supper weekly should teach its people to come each week with fresh attentiveness to what they are doing and why.
A Reasonable Practice
Given the New Testament evidence, weekly or at minimum monthly observance seems most consistent with the apostolic pattern. The Lord’s Supper is not an appendix to the worship service; it is one of only two ordinances Jesus gave to His church, and the church should honour it with the regularity its significance deserves. The precise schedule is a matter of wisdom for each congregation and its leadership, but the direction of the evidence favours more rather than less.
So, now what?
Whether your church observes the Lord’s Supper weekly, monthly, or at another interval, the call to you is the same: come with an examined heart and an attentive mind. Do not allow familiarity to breed carelessness. Each time you take the bread and the cup, you are doing something Jesus specifically asked you to do, in remembrance of Him. That alone should be enough to keep the practice from ever becoming routine.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42 (ESV)
