On a rainy spring day, I stumbled into my church group leader's house with wet hair and no makeup, sporting mismatched shoes, a baggy sweatshirt, and a look of distress. It was Ekklessia night—our name for our church groups, where we show up one night a week, share a meal, talk about the sermon, and just enjoy each other.
That week, I was being absolutely eaten away by anxiety, was barely eating, and had little to no mental capacity to function properly.
Silently, I plopped down next to a girl who was quickly becoming one of my best friends, Annie. Sweetly, she asked, "So, how are you?" It was a kind and non-judgmental code for, "I can tell something's wrong. Let's talk about it."
Breathless and overwhelmed, I unpacked the multitude of things that were weighing on me. She nodded as she listened patiently and attentively.
She didn't try to fix my problems. Surely she probably couldn't relate to 100% of what I was saying. But her response projected love and true friendship. "Can I pray for you?"
And she did. On the spot. And she has several times since, including this morning, almost a year later. When we were waking up early for a Christian conference, and I was plagued with the exact same anxieties. As I lay there, wrapped in my blankets with sleepy eyes and messy hair, she sat on the foot of my bed, held my hand, and prayed the wisest, most wonderful prayer.
Annie is an example of the gift of true friendship. And this serves as a pure example of the importance of fellowship.
I think it's time to have a very real and honest talk about fellowship, because it's one of the facets of church that often times gets put on the back burner. There's this mentality that church is a sermon on Sundays, singing a few worship songs, taking communion, and getting Dutch Bros afterwards.
I rebuke that notion. Let's talk about Acts 2.
Acts 2 42-47 talks about fellowship in practice. Verse 42 reads, "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer." This was how God's people did church--not only did they meet in the temples, but they also met in their homes to hang out. And they devoted themselves to doing this, because it was a priority.
Our church group is called Ekklesia, which is literally the Greek word for church. Church isn't supposed to be just a Sunday thing. It's all inclusive. It's doing life together. It's sharing meals, talking about Jesus, building relationships, celebrating joys, and getting through the junk.
Sometimes people just can't make time for another activity. Maybe people are shy and don't know how to make friends, or are even terrified of rejection. I can testify that if you can spare an hour and a half per week, it might change your life. At least, you'll probably enjoy yourself, and there's usually free food. And in terms of fear of rejection, Jesus himself was rejected, and he just wants to draw his people closer to him and each other, through genuine and meaningful relationship.
This is a challenge to churchgoers and anyone who's curious about Christ to step out of your comfort zone and join a church group, service event, or even volunteer to assist on Sundays. You'll serve, grow in Him, and form relationships with awesome people. Who wouldn't want that?
