The Church & Community

#Discipleship #ChurchLife #Church #FamilyChurch #Faith

I am willing to presuppose that every reader has a community they belong to. Family. Close Friend Circle. Job Friends. Vacation Family Group. Sport/Hobby Group. School. These are just a few examples of the daily community that each reader might partake in. The fundamental reality about humanity is that everyone is designed to live as part of a meaningful community; we are not intended to live alone. While some among us may have a shorter tolerance for being around people, at one point or another, everyone has a desire to connect with someone else besides ourselves.

"In contemporary religious thought, the term also designates a group bound together by a strong commitment to shared spiritual values and a common sense of being a people who embody a telos, or purpose, connected to God's intentions for humankind and creation."[1]

The purpose of the local church is to be a living organism that reflects the transformational power of the Gospel. That means that the church is not like your local hobby group, a school, or any other gathering that you may be a part of currently. Instead, the local church is a community that has one foot in this present world while having the other foot on the threshold to eternity (the Kingdom of God already at work in the world). What makes the local church needful for Christians is that it reaches a broken world with one hand and points to the only source of eternal hope with the other.

"42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common."[2]

The local church is a community authored by God himself. The church's birth, originally called The Way, results from nothing else but God's activity to redeem humanity from temptation, sin, and death. The verses quoted above point to God's activity through the Apostles as Peter preaches a sermon that exults God, and people are not merely saved; people's hearts and minds are transformed by the Gospel message. When you are pressed to think about the importance of community within the local church, remember that the church is not the creation of high-minded men. Instead, it is the saving work of God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, to call out those who are dead and dying to new life.

"24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."[3]

The community in the local church is intentionally constructive. That means that when brothers and sisters in the Lord come together to worship and celebrate God's work among their communities, they do it in an orderly manner. The local church comes together to prepare for the day every saved soul is longing for—The return of the Risen Savior (a.k.a., the end of time). The whole point of the Christian life is preparing for eternity in God's presence. This is why evangelism, missions, and outreach are important components of the local church. The question is, which community are you prioritizing in your life outside of your family?

I pray you prioritize your local church.

[1] Grenz, S. J., & Smith, J. T. (2003). In Pocket Dictionary of Ethics (pp. 21–22). InterVarsity Press. [2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Ac 2:42–44). (1995). The Lockman Foundation. [3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Heb 10:24–25). (1995). The Lockman Foundation.