Most Baptist churches with which I am familiar do not observe the Lord's Supper (communion) every week. Baptist churches tend to base their practices on the Bible. The Bible gives no specific guidance on frequency of the ceremonial observance. I have been in churches that observe monthly and others that do so quarterly. The only reference even close to prescribing a ceremony I have seen in the Bible is in 1 Cor 11:23-26. It basically says "whenever you observe the Lord's Supper, remember Jesus death," but doesn't say how often "whenever" ought to be. The frequency chosen by a particular church or denomination is not a matter of clear Bible teaching, but rather tradition or preference.

There is no command in the Bible about when to have the Lord's Supper. We believe that it is something very special and should be kept that way. Doing things too often makes them routine, and thus not special. That is our opinion, but think about it. There is a lot in the Bible which tells you how to prepare for the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. We don't want anyone to do that. We have the Lord's Supper at Thanksgiving and Easter. Before these services, the Pastor will remind everyone what this ceremony means, and what you have to do to get ready for it. It is only open to members of our church, not for just attenders, but full members. The reason for this is the above Bible verse. To be a member of our church, you have to be saved. Baptised and voted in by the congregation. You will be told what you have to do to prepare,(being sure your sins are all confessed to God)and you are of the proper mindset to recieve. We do not have assurance that non-members are saved, so the Lord's Supper is not available to them.

While there is not a commandment on how often to have the Lord’s Supper, it is appears that it was held on every first day of the week. Also, what I know of church history tells me that it was mostly (at least) celebrated at least as often as once a week. Another passage which must be considered is 1 Corinthians 11: 20, which can be translated: “20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper, . . . .” This passage, thus translated, seems to presuppose that the regular meeting had the Lord’s Supper. Now let us ask if having the Lord’s Supper makes it “special,” instead of ho-hum. I am now 62 years old. I have attended many different churches in my life. The only type of local church which I ever attended that took the Lord’s Supper really seriously was that of the “Christian Brethren” (aka “Plymouth Brethren”). In this sort of meeting, the Lord’s Supper is the meeting, and lasts around an hour. (Sermon is essentially in another service.) During that time, when done right, there is a crescendo of praise of the Lord Jesus, both in general, and for His death. The wrong way to have the Lord’s Supper, which does little to remember Christ (“Do this in remembrance of Me”) is to tag it on as a 5 minute exercise subordinate to the sermon. It appears to me that current baptist practice emphasizes remembering the preacher, instead of the Lord. What is a mystery to me is how it came to be that baptist churches would celebrate the Lord’s supper only quarterly? How did the change from weekly take place? I think it can be easily shown that early baptists did the Lord’s Supper weekly. Who changed it? And BTW, I am a member of a Southern Baptist Church.

I am 60 years old and have been a Baptist all my life and I have wondered this too. It has bothered me so much that I actually searched on "why baptist have quarterly communion." I've read the verses mentioned that do not say how often it should be observed, but I think because it is so important to the center of our beliefs that it should be offered every time we are in a church service. It bothers me enough that I am probably going to look for another faith after all these years. Another thing that really, really bothers me is that Baptist can ignore or outright deny that the "fruit of the vine" was fermented. That was the way they preserved the "fruit of the vine" in Jesus time here on earth. It was wine. What would be wrong with observing this very important sacrement the way Jesus did?

The reasons preachers taught as I was growing up was that they didn't want to make it a weekly thing because A) they didn't want people to forget how important it was by making it common place, and B) they didn't want to make it easy for people to join the ceremony if they were leading unworthy lives. By keeping it a special occasion, it made us more aware of how important it really was.

What are the commandments we are given regarding the structure of communion? "Eat this in remembrance of me" and "drink this in remembrance of me." The purpose of communion is not to become a weekly ritual. It is something we do to remember what Christ has done for us. This can be done in many more ways that communion. Having communion every Sunday is perfectly fine but having it once in a while is just as fine. When taking communion, have a pure heart. If you feel there is any unconfessed sin, do not partake in it. If you feel right in heart, take it and remember your Savior regardless of the periodicity.