Community

For years my wife and I have hosted a small group in our home. From season to season it has looked different, yet there has always been the same feel.

It was when we lived overseas that we truly saw the value of community. I don’t just mean any group of people, but people who gather together for mutual edification, united on one principle - the love of Christ. It was in that community where our family felt most at home.

Being overseas, we were far from extended family and all of the joys and benefits that came with it. There were no grandparents to help watch the kids when we wanted a date night. There was no grandma to cook and host Thanksgiving. The joy and warmth that should accompany extended family did not exist for most of us living overseas, but there was still a need for that warmth.

When we joined the church, we were introduced to a new family. Most of us who were there, were in the same situation. We were all far from home and we all had to miss family traditions. This is what brought us together, but it was the unifying Christ who kept us.

Our group was made up of all types of people. At the time, we had young kids, and there were a few other families with young kids, too. There were also families who had no kids, new born kids, and kids who had grown and moved away. There were middle class families and what some would consider upper class. Any outsider, who did not understand gospel community, would have looked at that group of people and questioned how we could all gather.

After moving back to the USA our family quickly saw a difference in the community that existed within the church. Most people in the US were near their extended family, and if they weren’t, they had long been invested in the community and had established rhythms and groups. It was difficult to break into these, but it has been worth it.

When we look at the early church, we see that these groups of people gathered together for worship, but they also did life together. We hear it preached that they helped each other whenever a need arose, but they did more than that. These early Christians were part of one another’s lives. They knew the birthdays and celebrations and gathered together for the meals. They became family - brothers and sisters in Christ.

This is what gospel community should feel like. It should feel this way within the church, as well as with a small group of people from within the body. I encourage you to make every effort to build one another up, loving each other and pointing all to Christ.