Thursday, January 10, 2008

The importance of community

Last night we had a great time getting back together with our Life Group. We had taken a Christmas break for most of December, so it was a fun time of catching up, talking about how our families celebrated Christmas, laughing, and eating.

As I looked around at our group last night I was struck by the diversity in the room. Our group consists of: couples who are raising young children and teenage children, couples who have grandchildren, couples with no children, people who are retired, people who hope to be retired one day, business owners, people who work out of their home, folks who have lived in Greer forever, newcomers to the upstate, school teachers, home school moms, Gamecock fans, Tiger fans, Delaware Blue Hen fans, and the list goes on. In the midst of all the differences we were reminded last night of what unites us. We are all on journey of following Christ day by day. Because we haven't begun a new study yet, we spent last night sharing scripture verses that encourage us. It was so cool to listen to different folks quote passages from the Bible and share stories of how those words have helped them through difficult days, or how they remind them daily of who God is.

I went to bed last night thinking about our need for community. I thought about how I always feel energized and encouraged when I spend time with other followers of Jesus. I don't believe that's a coincidence. I believe God has wired us up so we will be at our best when we are sharing our lives with others. Maybe this year you can decide to share your joys and struggles with others. When you do, I bet you'll be amazed at the results.

4 comments:

Freedom Fellowship serving in Haiti said...

I agree 100%. If we aren't sharing the journey, then it's a long, tough road to walk. Thanks for the laughs and the encouragement.

Amanda said...

Even sharing the journey is tough, but it is a lot better taking it with people who love you and love Jesus. I love lofe group and thank everyone involved for helping us thru tough times.Our only contested subjuect is Tigers vs. Cocks

Sonya said...

Where do we find information on these groups?

Cliff Marshall said...

Sonya,
Donny leads our Life Group ministry, and he would love to give you information on the groups we have that are meeting now. You can e-mail him at: donny@freedomfellowshipsc.com

We hope to begin at least two new groups arpund the beginning of March.