Not having a building to meet in may seem like a reasonable excuse not to meet but Church is not about the building it is about the people – We are the Church.
An important part of the Christian faith is fellowship. The simple act of meeting together to spend time with each other and with God. That is why the Vine Community Church finding itself with no venue made a bee-line for Whisby Nature Park. Instead of vegetating on the sofa or having a sneaky extra hour in bed, the Vine met at Whisby to spend time together, to share a meal and enjoy the fantastic surroundings in nature, of a creator God. What a fantastic day we had, beautiful, blue skies and a sunny day that would not have been out of place in June.
Fellowship is as important to Christians now as it was to Christians in the early church, in fact with all the distractions and pressures that surround us in our daily lives it is possibly more so.
Spending time together allows us to support one another, allows us to learn and gain strength from each other. It allows us to show the world an example of what God is.
Although none of us is perfect, we try to show all of God's grace to each other and the world. This sounds much grander than it is. We simply talk to each other and more importantly listen and help each other to bring our cares and desires to God. We are abundant with each other, both with our sandwiches and our time. We mix up our skills and interests, the happy support the sad, the knowledgeable instruct those who desire knowledge in anything from, “What is that bird?” to “What should I do”
Fellowship is recognising we all have something to bring.
Romans 12:4-6 - "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith." NIV
Fellowship Makes Us Stronger
No matter where we are in our faith, fellowship provides us with strength. Being around other believers gives us the chance to learn and grow in our faith. It allows us to agree on things and move forwards together.
Fellowship Provides Encouragement
We all have bad days, weeks or months. Whether it's having left the house on an argument, money problems, the loss of a loved one, a failed exam, or even a crisis of faith, we can find ourselves down. Isolation only breeds introspection and often amplifies how low we feel into resentment and anger.
Spending time with other believers can often lift us up a little bit. Spending time with each other can help to lift our eyes from our problems and keep them on God. God often works through other people we fellowship with, to provide us what we need in darker times. Coming together with others can help us to heal and gain encouragement to move on.
Hebrews 10:24-25 - "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." NLT
Fellowship Reminds Us We're Not Alone
Coming together with other believers in worship and conversation helps to remind us that we are not alone in this world. There are believers everywhere. It's amazing just how many believers there are, despite the world’s view that the church is in decline.
So finding ourselves without a church is less of a problem when you realise we are the Church. Fellowship together was great.
Did we sing songs? – no,
Were we led in prayer? – no.
Did we meet with God? – Absolutely, both in the nature around us and in the fellowship of other believers.
If you are a believer or even a searcher then I recommend fellowship to all. It is possible to be a believer and not regularly attend a church but you miss out on so much. You can never grow and fill God's full potential for you if you are not in fellowship with God and other believers. Why not join us next week to enjoy fellowship with us or seek out your local church?