This weekend, Julie and I, along with a few others in our Church Family, have been in Troy, Michigan, learning from and worshiping with the leadership of Woodside Baptist Church. More specifically, we’ve been meeting with their disciple-making teams, asking questions, and talking with them about the different processes and methods they utilize for equipping their church family to be disciple-makers.
In his book entitled Community, Brad House (one of the individuals we’ve been visiting with and learning from this weekend) makes the following statement (based on Ephesians 2:15-22):
We are a community of believers built on the cornerstone of Jesus.
Through Christ, we are fellow citizens and members of one household reconciled through the cross.
We are saved to be a community, not a church of individuals.In Christ, not only is our relationship with God restored, but we are also given the opportunity (and the ability) to experience life as God intended, in community – with Him AND one another. And that community’s purpose is to display God’s love for the world around us to see (Matthew 5:14-16; John 13:35).
Community is for us.
a declaration of the overwhelming love of God, a tangible proclamation of the reconciling work of the cross.
When you and I “do life” together in community, we are a physical demonstration, a living illustration, a tangible expression of God’s grace and the power of the gospel!
Yes, the journey begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And while it will always remain personal, it was never intended to stay private. Instead, God desires that we share that relationship with the world around us, and we live it out as the community of believers He is calling and equipping us to be.
Welcome to the next piece of the puzzle: community