True Fellowship

Today, we live in a world that is materialistic and celebrates individualism. We congratulate people for doing their own thing and for being strong enough to achieve their goals on their own.

Our friendships are based on online engagement, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and so many other social media platforms.

Sadly, we have lost the art of having face to face conversations and meeting together. The sense of community and fellowship is more rare and as a result, statistics show that there is a massive rise in overall loneliness and depression.

But God created us for so much more!

In Genesis 2:18, God comments that it is not good for the humans he created to be alone.

God wants us to live in true community and fellowship with each other. Even more, He calls us to belong to one another. That together we make up the Body of Christ, working in harmony to make His name known.

What is fellowship?

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." - Acts 2 : 42

Fellowship is not about finding the right group of people, but it is about committing to a group of people who are 'devoted to the apostles teaching' to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

It is about creating an environment of people who watch out for one another 'to provoke love and good works' ( Hebrews 10:24).

The Greek word for fellowship is 'Koinonia'. It is translated several ways but convey two related meanings:

• To share together in the sense of joint participation or partnership and

• To share with, in the sense of giving, what we have to others.

Early believers practiced this through their common love of Jesus and their life or death missions together, to take their love of Jesus all over the world so that everyone may hear the good news!

As a spiritual discipline, fellowship begins with our own personal relationship with God, for it is as a result of this, we are able to have true fellowship with each other. Our fellowship with God and others is an important part of living our faith.

Fellowship, how do we get it right?

• We carve out time in our days and weeks to meet together.

• We break bread together and use this time to be vulnerable and pray for one another.

• We speak encouragement over one another and listen and carry burdens alongside one another.

• We serve together.

• We take action in spreading the good news together, wherever and whenever we can.

• Fellowship with each other nurtures and matures our spiritual growth. Contact with other believers shapes us.

  
  

Our churches, small groups, bible study groups and prayer meetings, to name a few, have people with many experiences of life and living out their faith in them, so we are constantly learning from each other.

God has given us each other not just for company, but to be an indispensable means of his divine favour.

We are, for each other an essential element of the good work God has begun in us and promises to bring to completion. (Philippians 1:6)

Such is true fellowship!