Has it been a challenge for you to find fellowship in church? Maybe you have tried and felt rejected, or were hurt by others in the church, or just don’t feel like you fit in due to your life circumstances.
God didn’t create us to be alone all the time. We were made to be a part of Christian community.
The Bible tells us what church fellowship looked like for those in the early church in the book of Acts; we should seek to find a community like this, doing what they did to have fellowship.
You are important and needed in the community.
What Is Fellowship in the Bible?
The meaning of Christian fellowship in the Bible is community where God picks us, bringing us together into community, where we can be family forever.
This is possible because of Jesus and we need each other due to him. We come together because of Jesus.
It is through Jesus’s grace: a gift. It is based on what he did on the cross.
In Acts, we see Peter preaching the gospel, evangelizing, and many people coming to Jesus due to this. They were being baptized as a result, which added greatly to the church.
“So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41, ESV)
This brought them into fellowship in the church, as it does us, but it doesn’t end here… this is just the beginning.
We are called to be disciples of Jesus. It was God who grew the church via the Spirit and who allowed people to receive the message of Jesus, as seen in Acts 2:41 and 47.
The main intention of coming together is to bring others to know Jesus. Others see Jesus through us and in us. He summons us to be in Christian community.
Due to what Jesus did on the cross, we can have a relationship with God and with others to live in harmony, loving each other and being of service to form one body: the church. It is a privilege to be able to meet together and be with one another.
Fellowship with Jesus should be central and first in your life and our relationship with others flows out of this. Jesus lives in community with the Father and the Holy Spirit, where they are known as the Trinity, and so should we.
The church community should look like people from different tribes, nations, cultures, and backgrounds being together. No one should be excluded… so don’t feel like it’s not for you. You belong and were called.
What Is Fellowship in Church?
To look at the best example of what Christian community looks like in the church, you should look at the early church as the model you should follow.
The believers in Jesus all were united in their thinking, sharing the same intention and morals in the church that we should also have.
Life together in this community focused on four things, as listed in Acts 2:42.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42, ESV)
These were seen as a priority. We should do these things with others in the church. This is what a biblical community focused on Jesus looks like. Yours should too.
Why Is Fellowship Important?
God does not want us to be alone. He wants us to be in fellowship with others for many reasons.
Some of these are:
- It gives us joy, as it is a joy to be together.
- So we can bear our pains, hurts, and problems with others. We should be praying for each other, always pointing each other to Jesus, who is the one we are in fellowship with first. We need to be together to strengthen each other and uphold each other. We need to share the Bible with one another in hard times to help each of us stay strong in him. When our faith is weak, our brothers and sisters can carry us through—strengthening us in our faith in Jesus.
- We help each other stay in the Bible, understand it, and live it out.
- We need each other for accountability. When we are struggling, others can help us get through our struggles/sins to walk in greater freedom and holiness in Christ.
- Being in Christian fellowship in the church matures us spiritually. It grows us in our relationship with Jesus. The preaching does this as well, which takes place in community. The sacraments of baptism and taking communion in the body of Christ also mature us.
- Being made into the image of Christ happens in fellowship with Jesus, as well as in community. It occurs in a community that is grace filled and that we can trust others within. It is one that models Christ, his qualities, where we encounter his presence.
- Fellowship in church sanctifies us. It brings us into greater holiness, to look within ourselves, to seek awareness of our own wrongdoings and deficits. It leads us to seek God more in prayer, to walk in righteousness toward others, seeing our own faults. It leads us to a greater gratitude for others, showing us areas we need to grow in, and it is all by his grace, a gift from Jesus.
Examples of Fellowship in the Bible
You can find fellowship in the church when you find one that lives as the early church did, and you engage with those in the church as the early believers did.
Below you will find out what that can look like practically for you. Christian community is important and you should continue to put yourself out there. Don’t let hurt from the past or your life circumstances stop you. Those in the church need you. You will be so thankful you did.
Be Generous With Others
The early believers were in unity with one another. They shared what they had radically, also giving to those in need. This showed others Jesus.
“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” (Acts 2:44-45, ESV)
They didn’t feel that anything was owed to them. They knew everything they had was from Jesus and therefore not theirs to use as they pleased or to hoard.
Thus, they saw giving as a way to aid others in the church. Individuals were more valuable to them than having things or being comfortable. This needs to be our mindset towards things.
When others are in need and you can help, do it. Live with others in the church with this mindset. You can find fellowship in church by giving, when you can, to others in need.
For example, if someone is ill and there is a meal train going, sign up even if you don’t know them. If you hear of someone in need of food because they lost their job, help by giving them groceries you have in your house you are not using.
Give what you don’t use to others in the church who need it.
Join a Small Group
The early believers met in the temple together and in each other’s homes, sharing meals together.
“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts…” (Acts 2:46, ESV)
You can do this also. If you want fellowship, don’t just worship with others in church—also do it in their homes by joining a small group and having a meal together with them. Often, a meal is shared there. If not, invite others over to your house and share a meal with them and pray together.
This is worshiping God together. Don’t limit yourself to just meeting others at the church building. Be bold by joining a small home group, as this is where you can really form relationships.
Finding fellowship in church can be challenging… but you can have it. God doesn’t want us to be alone.
The meaning of Christian community is community where God picked us, bringing us together into community, and we become family forever. Two ways of how to build Christian community are by being generous and by joining a small group. You need others and they need you. Pray to find the right community. God will lead you.
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