Fellowship

Hello friends! As you can see, the title is a bit different this week. From now on, the "column" caption will no longer be on there, because to me, writing is writing. So...there's that.

I have to admit, I've had this one saved for a couple of weeks, but this week seemed like a good time to finally share it, especially since it's not a time-sensitive issue. You'll see what I'm talking about in a bit, and if you like what you read, pass it on! I would greatly appreciate it!

Original publication date: Friday, March 20, 2015
Random Writer
Fellowship 

For most of my life, I've considered myself a loner, an introvert. In elementary school, I was the kid who sat by herself waiting for P.E. class to begin (to this day, I'll never forget the teacher calling me to her office as she signed a certificate of appreciation...I guess for sitting there nice and quietly, I really don't know).

In high school, I was the student who didn't really like group projects and--even more than that--working with a partner. I vividly remember being partnered with someone in English class, and once I came up with my own idea, I asked the teacher if I could start working on my own and basically abandoned my partner.

My days at Bible college began with an interview to work on campus, and when the question was asked if I preferred to work alone or with others, the guy who interviewed me was surprised by my answer of working solo. I was told that I would have to work with one or two other people, which didn't bother me at all, but it just wasn't my preference.

But once I got into the full swing of college, I somehow made several friends and it seemed as if our group never separated. If we weren't all together, we managed for a few of us to hang out. And even when friends started to date and marry or move out of the dorms, we found ways to gather in fellowship and community.

Yet, once I left college and returned to Sweetwater, the onslaught of hanging out with others came to a stopping point. I don't share this to garner sympathy, but it's true. My lifelong friends either remained at Bible college or had ventured off to pursue ministry and/or post-college life--marriage, parenthood, etc.--in other states and even other countries. And truthfully, finding twenty-somethings in this small town who desire to follow God...there really weren't many.

So you find ways to adapt. Instead of looking for people your own age, you seek out anyone who has a desire to follow God. To do life together and spend time in fellowship and community. In one of its several forms, community is defined as "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals".

And after six years of returning home, God has not only given me a desire to seek out community but He has answered that prayer. It's the monthly gathering of ladies from church who meet over dinner and dessert, or the few times out of the year where a few church members will spend an evening snacking on finger foods and playing board games.

As of late, it's been the weekend away for a ladies retreat, or the Southern gospel concert where you and a friend are among 20 young people in the crowd, or the handful of people who venture out to another town during the winter weather to watch a Christian comedian.

When the early church was established in Acts 2, the commonality of the Gospel of Christ brought the people together. Souls were saved, they were baptized, and they met together for teaching and fellowship and eating and prayer. It was community, personified.

"And all that believed were together, and had all things common," states Acts 2:44 (KJV), and the chapter wraps up by reiterating how they met together.

When I can come together with fellow believers in Christ to talk about His goodness and how He's teaching me to grow in Him--even when it get really hard, it's such a great time of fellowship. I can get spiritual insight from others or rejoice with them or empathize with them. I can share about some of my own personal trials as a means of encouragement, to let a sister in Christ know that God will get her through it.

It doesn't matter if you're an introvert like me or the most outgoing person in the crowd, we all need community in our lives. Yes, it might be a little bit harder for the introvert to fully dive in to the gathering, but to find people who have a common mindset is a beautiful thing. I hope that you have found others to meet with in fellowship, or that you're doing your part to bring someone in who's in search of community.