When I joined the Protestant church in the mid-90s, it was my first experience with it other than my Catholic upbringing. I was used to 45-minute sermons and people not connecting with each other. The idea of a small group was foreign to me, but I was interested in them. My boyfriend and I attended our local Bible study group. Instead of diving into the sermon that week, we decided to do prayer requests first. We went around the room, told our prayer requests, and asked people to pray for one another. When we got to one gentleman, he simply looked at all of us, cried, and said one word: Help! We all put down our Bibles, got a box of tissues, surrounded the man, and laid hands on him. To this day, I still remember the incredible experience of putting down our Bibles, surrendering our own agendas, and replacing them with God's agenda. Every person was edified that evening. And we learned an important lesson: small groups were not simply about studying the Bible or applying a sermon but about feeling each other's needs for God's people. Since then, my husband and I have tried replicating that model in our small groups. Sometimes it works; sometimes, it doesn't. Having that type of connection to community and others within the church is vital for every person's Christian life. Here are six reasons why it's so important:
1. It allows for connection.
When we were done praying for each other and left that study that night, we felt closer to each other than we ever had before. It allowed us to establish trust among each other. In subsequent weeks, people shared more intimate prayer requests rather than superficial ones that allowed us to stay emotionally shallow with each other. We could go deep and share our fears, doubts, and concerns about our lives and what God's role was in our life. This is where the church shines the most. People are starving for connection and community. In this technologically advanced world, we're more alone than ever, and each person needs to be in a small group to achieve the connection and community they long for.
2. It keeps us accountable.
When we fall into sin, we must have partners with whom we can be accountable. Having accountability means being able to check in with someone at regular intervals, telling them how they're doing in your spiritual life. This does not mean perfection from sin but rather a desire to repent and instead participate in righteous behaviors that draw us closer to Christ's likeness.
3. It helps us achieve vulnerability.
In our professions, we are required to be as professional as possible and not allow our personal lives to interfere with our work. If we were married, we may or may not have a good, intimate relationship with our spouses. We must maintain a parent-child relationship with our children. The church is the place where we can be vulnerable with each other. Although this may be hard for some people, we need to become more self-aware of the issues in our lives that must be resolved. When we choose not to deal with our issues, we're impacting our spiritual lives and the lives of others around us. We must strive to be as healthy as possible. We simply cannot bury the issues in our lives but rather deal with them, expose them to the light, and resolve them. There is nothing in our lives that Christ cannot help us overcome. We must be examples of people who are willing to look at our issues and take responsibility for our actions. We must transform our lives from one of separation from God to those living within an interdependent relationship with him.
4. Community allows us to speak into others' lives.
God promised that the world would be against us. Because we have superficial relationships with others, we don't have the right to speak into someone's life when they're doing something wrong or in sin. Community helps us to earn the right to speak into someone else's life. When we can spend adequate time with someone and mutually resolve the issues within our souls, we can speak into people's lives and pray for them. This allows people not to feel judged but rather convicted in a way where they're not feeling alone. Our convictions should point us to Christ, not make us feel separated from him. We need people in our lives who are willing to love us through all our issues, warts, and all. Community helps us find those people who are mature enough to help us when we're wrong, pick us up when we stumble from sin, and rejoice with us in our triumphs.
5. Community helps us to worship.
When we are close to other brothers and sisters in Christ, it's easier for us to attend church regularly and worship freely together. Hebrews 10:25 says, "not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." It is imperative we keep our relationship with our local church. Our local church is not only the place to give our money, our time, and our resources, but it may also help us when we need it the most. If we are struggling financially, for example, churches might be the people that can help us. They might be giving people who want to help us out of a bad situation. When we live free lives, we can also freely worship the Lord. That is what God desires for every one of us. He wants us to worship him with all our hearts and souls. He never wants us bogged down in the mire of sin but rather live freely as his children.
6. We understand God's love.
When we have people we can go to for prayer requests, accountability, and celebrating the successes in our lives, we can understand God's love. There will be a day when we will reunite with Jesus and do that freely with him. But for now, as we live on this earth, we must worship God in every area. When we have true community with others, we can understand that God loves us and that his love covers everything sin in our lives. There's nothing that can separate us from God's love because of Christ's sacrifice. If we live this way every day, we will understand God's love. The community can help us do that.
We were never meant to do life alone. Find a church body that will allow you to be the person you are right now. Not only that, but that will not allow you to stay that way. Through their wisdom, love, and understanding, the community can help us understand who God is, increase our faith, and become shining examples of Christ to others.
Related Resource: Can We Find the Community We Crave in Virtual Communities?
Is online community really community? Are authentic virtual communities even possible? In this episode of Truth Tribe, Dr. Groothuis answers these questions, while exploring four key principles Christians must keep in mind when trying to build virtual community. Listen in!
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Michelle S. Lazurek is a multi-genre award-winning author, speaker, pastor's wife, and mother. She is a literary agent for Wordwise Media Services and a certified writing coach. Her new children’s book Hall of Faith encourages kids to understand God can be trusted. When not working, she enjoys sipping a Starbucks latte, collecting 80s memorabilia, and spending time with her family and her crazy dog. For more info, please visit her website www.michellelazurek.