Marks make the church or church makes the marks?

Contrariness or radical confessionalism?

One of my good friends mentioned to me once that the Gospel rightly preached and the Sacraments rightly administered would empty our church buildings since the Gospel runs so contrary to culture and human nature.

But my question would then be does the Church make the marks or do the marks make the Church? Three people are in a house, someone reads the Words of institution over bread and wine... isn't THAT church?