They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42
Another mark of the first church was fellowship. In Acts 2, Luke describes the fellowship of those first Christians like this: All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
They were devoted to fellowshipping with each other. Their community became something that drew people in. They realized this was something that would change their lives and it knit them together, as well as impacting those who saw them. That’s a great testimony, isn’t it, about the church? The church was united. The church was in God’s Word. The church was in prayer, and as a result of their joy and fellowship, the church had a great testimony and witness to the world. So, how about the church today? A sad statistic put out by Barna research shows that the average church attendance for people claiming to be Christians, is about 1.6 times per month. As our church services have become more of a production rather that focused on learning God’s Word, I believe we have created a culture of ambivalence toward church. We have become consumers and want a good show. We don’t want to be challenged or be called to task – just a good time. I hear good excuses of why we miss fellowship but the fact remains, we are hurting ourselves and the whole body when we are indifferent to the fellowship of believers.
The writer of Hebrews urges us to, “… not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25) It is important to be devoted to learning together, to pray together, to encourage each other. A log removed from the fire will quickly burn out and grow cold. It needs the blaze from the other logs to keep burning bright and be useful.
God is building something lasting in us. He is building something for all eternity. Are you up for the challenge? I hope so. Join a Sunday class. Start a small group. Begin a new daily devotional. Where is God challenging you?