Community Group Video #2 from Ascending Productions on Vimeo.

A memorable Community Group effort started last Christmas when we were offered the opportunity to sponsor a needy family at Christmas time. The family we got to sponsor was a mother and her five children ranging in ages from 2 to 11 years old.  Also the father of the last four children, is actively involved with the family.  We collected up the gifts and took a meal to them and they were very appreciative.  But that is just the beginning.
 
Our group was convicted that a one time giving of gifts was not what God wanted, so we got involved with the family.  Some of our group started going over on Thursday nights and helped the kids with their homework, took a meal or just plain shared fellowship.  Near Easter, one of the members of the group shared the Easter story and then the Gospel and the entire family prayed to receive Christ.  They have been coming to SBF as their schedule permits.  We had a community group night at the Durham Bulls and took the family.  We had a group cookout and invited them and they brought a teenage neighbor who also stated he wanted to come to church.  So our community group grew from a simple gift giving effort to shepherding a family which led to multiple salivation’s.  Now that is PRAISE the LORD material.

That is great. Thank you for sharing.

The church should function like that. When the world sees what we have (Jesus) they should say: I want that. However, the church has become lame. It is more of a routine than a revolution. The early church was different. Success was not measured by attendance. It was more than a one hour routine. It was not about a bunch of people singing some good music and hearing a good talk from one guy. The early church was different it was a revolution that turned their world upside down. What did they have? COMMUNITY. By Community I simply mean being connected in relationship. Connected in relationship first with Jesus Christ then with each other. You can hear more about this by listening to the message from today: I want that!

“My community group mirrors the community that is found in Acts. We have loved together, shared, supported each other with finances, morally we are unafraid to confront, we are open to each other and others, we’ve fought. They are as close to me as family, and sometimes even closer. Pretty much anytime I am not at work or at church, I am with them or on the phone with one of them.” 

“Through my group, God has helped me to come to the point of trusting people again.” 

“Our group has divided twice so that others could begin to lead and share community with more people. We have seen marked growth – more people reading their Bible consistently and opening up about their struggles.” 

“…I have received unconditional love and acceptance. Life change has been huge in our group and I look forward to attending.” 

“Being the oldest in our group, it’s been refreshing to be able to both learn from the youngin’s and share life lessons from God with them.” 

“The story that comes to mind is when my husband and I were going through a tough time with our families…Our CG was so supportive, and they came over during a week night after the kids went to bed and we had a prayer session. We felt so blessed and could feel the power of prayer from them. It was awesome to know that we have such a close group that they would drop everything to be there for us.”

“My community group went to see the movie “Fireproof” as a group outing, and my mom happened to be in town so she came along and was very welcomed. She accepted Christ as her Savior the next day!”

Can we live in caring relationships?

I think the answer is yes. Of course we can care for each other through online community. In fact I can know things about people I would otherwise not know at all and can pray for them and do other things to help them in specific situations. Without online community I may not even be aware of their needs. There is one specific situation I can think of where my wife read one of her facebook friends status and realized this was a need to be addressed. Without having her as a friend on facebook I am not sure she would have been aware of the issue. She then rallied the troops and our church stepped up and demonstrated the love of Christ to her friend.

Can those relationships be guided by biblical truth?

I think so for sure.

Can those relationships be rooted in spiritual accountability?

This is certainly possible, but I think more difficult online. Here is where I think seeing someones facial expressions, hearing their tone, and observing there body language is missed. Again it comes down to authenticity, but I think something is lost in online communication.

Is life change occurring in the unity and diversity of authentic relationships?

Online community certainly allows for great diversity in relationships. I can connect with friends that are all over the world because of online tools.

While I think all of these things are possible I do think there are certain relational elements that are not possible online. Certainly online community allows me to connect with more people, people I would probably not otherwise connect with, but is there genuine community with people I do not already have a face to face connection with? Online tools can certainly assist in relationships, but can they or should they replace them?

Genuine biblical community means living in caring relationships that are guided by biblical truth and grounded in spiritual accountability. We know that real and lasting life changes — spiritual transformation — occur in the unity and diversity of authentic relationships.

If we break this definition down aren’t all of these things possible and happening online?

Can we live in caring relationships?

Can those relationships be guided by biblical truth?

Can those relationships be rooted in spiritual accountability?

Is life change occurring in the unity and diversity of authentic relationships?

I will attempt to answer these questions in my next post. What do you think?

I think the issue really is an issue of authenticity. How real and how raw does someone want to be? It is easy to post a mood on facebook (I have only done it once, but it seems easy). It is hard to pour out your heart. I have never been a writer, but it seems to be a way to communicate what is going on in my life, in my mind, and in my heart. If others want to read that and then interact over those circumstances, thoughts, and emotions that is great. Does that mean we have community?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. ⁶ It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

You know you have real friends when you have people around you that demonstrate these characteristics. So let me ask a few question:

Are there people around you that are patient and kind to you when others would not be?

Do they rejoice with you when things go well rather than compete with you to one up you?

Are they willing to submit to you and you to them in a given circumstance or do one of you always have to get your way?

Do they want to be around you or do you seem to be irritating to them?

Are they quick to forgive? I am so blessed with a few folks in my life who are very close to me and are very gracious. Praise God. He knows exactly what I need.

Will they allow you to believe lies because they don’t care enough to confront you? I have also been blessed with people who are willing to tell me the truth.

Will they give up on you or will they be there through every circumstance both good and bad?

I can honestly say there are a lot of people in my life, but there is a group that I think will never give up and will endure through every circumstance. Those are the people you know are your friends.

Do you have these types of people in your life? People who are willing to truly demonstrate biblical love? Are you this type of person?