ASSEMBLIES OF GODpg 13 Fellowship-Connect
*A helpful way to introduce the discussion around "Fellowship-Connect" is to show the video (available for download below) and invite teams to discuss the things that they might need to rethink about the question, "How will we treat guests when they arrive?"
It has been said that the five greatest needs of the human personality are significance, support, stability, stimulation, and self-expression. Connecting to God and participating in a church family are the best ways to satisfy these needs.
God wired us for connection. We need something to believe in, somewhere to belong, a way to behave, and something to become. Connecting to Jesus and to others who love him is the best way to find life’s greatest fulfillment.
Everything starts with one’s connection to God. Without that connection, none of us will ever be able to have the relationships on earth we were created to enjoy. Helping people find this connection is the primary reason your church exists. Nothing else truly matters if people aren’t finding their way to God.
Jesus’ clear intent for His Church was that we would be a group who encourages each other and loves each other. As Jesus contemplated His ultimate return to Heaven, He instructed His disciples to love each other. Clearly Jesus knew that we would not only need relationship with Him, but also relationship with one another.
But fellowship extends even beyond these critical relationships. Ultimately, through relationship, we connect to those outside the church and find that such connections are the key strategy in guiding others to God.
Our second guiding question flows from the first. Remember, we have alreadyasked,“How will we engage new people?” Well, now we must ask the natural follow-up to that question, How will we treat them when they walk through our doors?
Jesus said that people would see our connection to Him by our love. Think about that for a minute. People will figure out that we are a part of Him when we love the way Hedoes.
How did He love? Sacrificially. Unconditionally.
But Jesus’ love was equally amazing when you think about who He loved. The outsider was a key target for His love. The broken, mistreated, and forgotten received value and life-changing love from our Savior. Jesus loved those no one else loved. He didn’t just occasionally cross over to that side of the street. He ate His meals there. In fact, Jesus’ love for the outsider was a key reason religious people sought to kill Him.
If our brand of love is a primary way people will see Jesus in us, it seems logical that who we love and how deeply we love them are the key ingredients. Did your “I dream of a church where fellowship is…” make room for the outsider? How will your church grow if such people aren’t in your sights.
Outward focus is the mindset of the growing church. Inward focus dominates the declining church. If our focus in fellowship is dominated by relationships within the church, we may not realize the barriers we’ve created between us and the outsider.
Most churches think of themselves as friendly. But as their guests will attest, what they really mean is that they are friendly to each other. Relationships should be strong and healthy inside a church, but we must be intentional about aiming that love toward those we don’t yet know.
A big part of your fellowship plan should include the steps you take to welcome people into your church. Everything from the welcome they receive and your door to your efforts to introduce them to your people and ministries that can strengthen their individual journeys are a part of this component.
Remember, people want to belong before they believe and become. Jesus extended love and belonging to people long before they came to fully discover who He is. He knew that through His genuine love, they would soon open their hearts to Him and to the plan He has for their lives.
An Acts 2 Church doesn’t draw lines between themselves and those they are trying to reach. Instead, such churches build bridges that can both take them to the lost and open the way for these friends to find Jesus among His people.
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