Community is vital for growth. We all crave acceptance and strong relationships. Human beings naturally gravitate towards being a part of something greater than themselves. But, when strengthening your community turns into a competition, we forget about the relationships we have already cultivated. Our lust for more people is greater than our love for the people that we already have.
In this week’s episode of The Reckless Pursuit, Cody and I discussed the importance of community. Specifically, we talked about how often times Churches use up their relationships as resources to gain more people. Sure, there is nothing wrong with trying to “reach” the broken or lost. There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to strengthen your community.
However, a lot of times we see Churches focus more on other Churches congregation.
Community isn’t about fancy light shows and feel-good messages
We seem to get so fixated on the best viewing experiences. Sometimes we think that if a Church has a fancy building then automatically that makes that Church worth going to. I’m sure you already know but those things don’t actually matter. Material things don’t create a lasting community.
I think we forget that real people are involved. Real people, real relationships, real community. True community isn’t about what looks the best. No, true community is when we focus more on the people and less on how to gain the most people.
When did authentic community become a numbers game?
People aren’t numbers or statistics. Honestly, you could have 1,000 members show up every Sunday at Church but that doesn’t mean there is a true community. Just because seats fill up does not mean those people are being sought after.
As I said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to reach people. There is nothing wrong with trying to grow and strengthen your relationships. But you cannot “reach” people and abuse the relationships you have already cultivated.
People are not competition. Community should not be a competition.
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