We’ve started a series in our Gen7 Youth Group about growing in community. I thought it would be interesting to ask several questions about our students social community.
- How many of you have heard of Facebook? Answer: 100% said yes
- How many of you have heard of Myspace? Answer: 100% said yes
- How many of you have heard of Twitter? Answer: 100% said yes
- How many of you have heard of LinkedIn? Answer: Only two students had heard of it.
LinkedIn is a social network based on professional relationships. I gave our teens some stats and information about LinkedIn and they were like, “wow”! They didn’t know there was this large, powerful, social community outside of their own network. (Sometimes we can get tunnel vision, and only be aware of our circle of relationships.)
The LinkedIn tagline is “Relationships Matter.” “Hmm” I thought. “I think they got that idea from God.” God looked at what He created in Adam and said “it’s not good that man should be alone.” God created Eve for that reason. They had each other, and that was their community. Yes, relationships do matter. And you matter too.
God not only wants everyone to be connected to Him through a personal relationship, but He also wants us to be connected with each other, to be in fellowship with a community of believers through our local church and small groups. If we try to go through life alone without connecting with others, we end up on a lonely island by ourselves, and that is not God’s purpose for you or me.
Community in the Early Church (Acts 2:41-47)
Acts 2 records that after the Apostle Peter boldly preached to a large crowd on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 responded by committed there lives to follow Jesus Christ. Verses 42-47 outline the focus and core values of the early church.
42) They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43) Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44) All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45) They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46) Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47) praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
In the life of the early church, notice how committed they were to community! They were committed to prayer and the ministry of the word. Yet they were also devoted to each other. They committed themselves to fellowship with each other, and to breaking bread together. They continued to meet together. They ate together. They worshipped together. All of them were together in unity. They were a community.
As a result of Kingdom community, they enjoyed favor with the broader community where they lived, and the Lord continued to add to the church daily those who were being saved. Let’s commit to this kind of community and watch what God will do!