“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
JOHN 13:34-35
As believers, we are all part of the church, but it is not enough for us to simply assemble together to hear God’s Word preached and then go our separate ways. We are called to live in community.
From the time God created the first human, Adam, He intended him to be in community. “It is not good for the man to be alone,” God said in Genesis 2:18, and created Eve. The theme of community continues throughout the Bible, in passages such as Genesis 28:3, Psalm 13:1, Proverbs 27:17, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:25-27, and 1 Peter 4:8-9. Much of our development as Christians will not take place apart from our interaction with others. We cannot live the Christian life in isolation.
We believe that everyone should belong—first to Christ, and then to church and community. Finding belonging in the local church can happen in a multitude of ways, but one of the best ways is to connect through small groups—gatherings of people who meet regularly to “do life together,” whether at a church building or at various homes or other locations during the week. Community can also be found in Bible studies or discipleship classes, in support and recovery ministries, in prayer groups, or among groups of people who serve alongside one another in ministry.
It is within such group settings that we truly develop lasting relationships as we eat together, share our lives, encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), support one another in our faith, and bear each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).
Biblical communities come together to study God's Word and apply it to their lives, pray for each other, provide care for their community members in crisis, and serve together to build up both the group and the larger world around them. Through these connections, everyone in the group is strengthened (Proverbs 27:17).
Can you identify where you belong in the church? Are you active in community? Who would miss you if you were to miss? What step can you take to connect in community today—or, if you are connected, to help someone else connect?