Our third core value is Community.
Now that relationships are established, it is important that we come together as a community. Community is defined as a unified body of individuals. The thing that unifies us is Jesus Christ. We have been called to be the body of Christ. Romans chapter 8 tells us that we are brothers and sister with Christ. It is vital that as believers, we live, worship and grow in community. We believe there are certain aspects that we should strive for a Christian community.
The community should have the identity of Christ – If Christ is our leader, then when someone looks at us they should see Christ. Not the pastor or worship leader or home group leader but Christ. We are all called to be mature followers of Jesus Christ. The first thing we have to do, in order for this to happen, is to deny ourselves. This means it is not about us but all about Jesus. He is the center of everything we do. This means we must strive to live our life like Jesus. We must live for others and not ourselves. This unifies the group with 1 leader and that leader is Jesus Christ.
The community should have the mission of Christ – We must also have the mission of Christ. This focuses the group on 1 mission, the mission of Jesus Christ. He has charged us with making a difference by carrying out the same ministry he did. This is found in Isaiah 61:1 or Luke chapter 4. Our mission as a community is to proclaim the good news, bring healing to the sick, heal those with broken hearts, and release people from oppression. These are in addition to the mission of all Christians, which, is to make disciples and spread the light and love of Jesus Christ.
Our specific mission means that we are committed to living a life of freedom. We are committed to live life free of the influences of Satan by putting on the armor of god and teaching about spiritual warfare. We are committed to live a life of victory over sickness by praying and proclaiming God’s word over those who are sick. We are committed to help mend the broken hearted by showing them love, listening when needed, and giving them tools to help them overcome the disappointments of life.
The community should have the love of Christ – Jesus says to deny yourself and take up your cross. He took up his cross. The thing is that his cross was not for himself but for us. Therefore we take up our cross by supporting each other and carrying each other’s burdens. This is a commitment to be real and honest with each other, a commitment to share with each other our burdens, pains, and stumbling blocks so that we may pray and support each other. This helps us place our focus not on ourselves but on others and learning to love like Jesus.
We also show the love of Christ by encouraging one another. When we come together we have a great opportunity to encourage each other to grow and to serve. Some of the best growth comes from this. When we can have open healthy discussions about applying scripture to our lives we learn not only what the scripture means but then how do we apply it. We also learn how to apply scripture by encouraging each other to serve. It is through service that we can learn how to apply the scripture and our faith to the real world, the world outside the walls of the meeting place.
The community should be a servant like Christ – We are called to be the body of Christ. This means serving each other and other people outside of the church. The neat thing about being the body of Christ is that we are not all the same part. Otherwise we would be called the elbows of Christ. 1 person may be a nose, 2 may be arms, 10 may be fingers, etc. We all have a purpose and God has created each of us to do good works. It is in community and through service where we really get to discover our purpose and the gifts and talents he has given us. You may know the talent or the gift outside of community but it is in community that you will be able to see how it fits into the body of Christ and how it utilized to fulfill God’s purpose.