I love the idea of community. At the first church where I worked, I taught about community so much that the students started to roll their eyes whenever I said the word. And yet, every time we discussed it, we would talk about something different. It also applied to everything that we did. When we played games together, we were building community. When we ate together, we were building community. When we studied God’s Word or talked about a current ­topic and applied our faith to it, we were building community. When we served others in our church or neighborhood to­gether, we were building community. When we prayed to­gether, we were building community.

The early church, described in Acts 2, is a great example of this as well. Whatever the believers did, they did it together and built community in the process. From the big things in life to the small things, they did them together and learned about who they were and who God is at the same time.

Being part of a community is important. It gives us the opportunity to be honest and vulnerable. To build others up as we are being built up. To discover our gifts and talents as we help others do the same. To learn from others as they learn from us. And to see a larger picture of who God is in the world around us and in ourselves.

Let’s explore together what community is.