I was lucky enough to be able to attend a Christian retreat over the first weekend of October. One of the things that they kept emphasizing was the need for community in your life. I had never thought about it from that perspective before. Yeah, everybody wants to have friends. What's new? Having friends and having Christian community in your life are two totally different things. Fortunately, my Christian community and my friends are the same people!
The first verse I thought of while I was writing this article was this, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" Matthew 18:20. What is so exciting about that is whenever we are Bible studying, praying, or jamming out to Christian music, God is present with us.
I never truly recognized how important Christian community was until I came to TCU and realized I didn't have any here yet. I know what you're thinking, I'm at a Christian university. It literally has the word "Christian" in the title. I am here to tell you that doesn't mean a thing. There are still so many people that don't follow Christ passionately here yet, which makes it a breeding ground for your faith to plummet. That's why I was so excited when I finally found community within Phi Mu. I have made some of my best friends through this organization and have found Christian community with them.
My favorite part about having fellowship with these amazing people is the accountability that it puts on me. It's this constant push to be pursuing Christ in every aspect of my life. You have to be at church, at Bible study, and at prayer because you have people that will call you out when you aren't. It's exciting to have people that push you to grow closer to God because they genuinely care about your well-being.
Another thing that they really emphasized at the retreat was the need to get plugged in at a local church. I am so happy that I was able to find my church home within my first few weeks on campus. The community that I have found within Encounter/McKinney has been fantastic for my faith. If you aren't plugged in yet, do it! I promise, you will not regret it.
I think the reason that God put it on my heart to write this article was to inspire people to look for Christian community around them. It will hold you accountable in your faith and it may even give you some of your best friends.