Church Purpose Resources & Training

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• Church Purpose
    What is the Purpose?
    Benefits
    How to
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       Nurture/Edification
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Relationship with others is of extreme importance, standing next to our relationship with God Himself. (See Matt. 22:37-39.)

Relationship with fellow believers takes priority and goes deeper than what we are to have with those who do not know the Lord. (See Gal. 6:10.)

God's people were never intended to walk the walk alone. Consider phrases which are used to describe the church:
--"fellow citizens with God's people"
--"members of God's household"
--"in Him the whole building is joined together"
--"family of God"
 
Let's avail ourselves of resources to help us engage in true fellowship with one another.

• mankind created for human community (Gen. 2:18)
• corporate aspect in both Old Testament life and in the New Testament Church (Gen. 12:2; Eph. 2:19-22)
• devotion of early church to fellowship (Acts 2:42)
• Jesus' prayer for oneness patterned after the Trinity (John 17:20-23)
• commanded not to forsake relationship with one another which requires that time be spent with one another (Heb. 10:25)
• corporate dimension in the life to come (Rev. 21:2-22:5; Heb. 11:10, 13-14; 1 Thess. 4:16-18; Phil. 3:20)

True fellowship transcends the temporal boundaries of age, gender, social status, intelligence, marital status, and any other distinction which can be made. (See Gal. 3:26-28.) If Christ received a person into a relationship with Himself based on grace, that should be enough for us to extend fellowship to them. The primary basis of fellowship is our shared life in Christ. Everything else is secondary. We need to see people as they are in Christ. Only issues which affect the essence of the Gospel are cause for a break in fellowship.

The tendency is to be interested in people to whom we are naturally attracted because of common interests or status in life. The common practice is for churches to structure along these lines. While some of this can be healthy, if it becomes the norm we take away opportunity for the essence of true fellowship. Jesus died to destroy barriers. (See Eph. 2:11-22.)

To be in fellowship with those different than ourselves will require us to stay in fellowship with God Himself, to have a good understanding of the meaning of grace, and to love with a supernatural love.

• first fellowship with God, then with others (1 Cor. 1:9; 1 Jn. 1:3, 6-7)
• extended upon recognition of God's grace in a person's life (Gal. 2:9)
• among believers, not with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 5:11)
• if out of fellowship with God, not going to find true fellowship with one another (1 Jn. 1:6-7)

Fellowship ("koinonia") is a sharing or participation in that which we have in common.
      "koinos" = common

This can take various forms or be expressed in a variety of ways. You will find the word "koinonia" in the Scripture for each of the processes to the left.

In Christ we are one Body. The objective of fellowship is to become in practice what we are in our standing in Him.

• communion --sharing the Lord's supper together (1 Cor. 10:16)
• contribution --sharing materially with one another (Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 8:3-4; 9:13; Phil. 4:15)
• communication --sharing our faith with one another (Phile. 1:6)
• community --sharing the whole of our lives with one another on a regular basis (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35)
   
   
  

As the early church devoted themselves to fellowship balanced with truth, and did so with "glad and sincere hearts," others took notice. (See Acts 2:42-47.)

"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47).
 

• unity among believers (Phil. 2:1-4)
• desire to pray for one another because of genuine concern (Phil. 1:3-5)
• an effective witness to the world around us (Jn. 13:34-35; 17:23)

Community Building Ideas

• 101 Great Ideas to Create a Caring Group by Thom Corrigan
• Groupbuilder Games and Activities for Youth Ministry by Group Publishing
• 201 Great Questions by Jerry Jones
• Building Community in Youth Groups by Denny Rydberg (although intended for youth, many of the ideas can work well with adults) (may be out of print but may find it used at Amazon.com)
• Youth Group Trust Builders by Denny Rydberg (although intended for youth, many of the ideas can work well with adults) (may be out of print but may find it used at Amazon.com)
• Groupbuilders: 50 High-Impact Ideas to Revolutionize Your Adult Ministry by Group Publishing (may be out of print but may find it used at Amazon.com)
• Fun Friend-Making Activities for Adult Groups by Karen Dockrey (may be out of print but may find it used at Amazon.com)
• Ice-Breakers and Heart-Warmers: 101 Ways to Kickoff and End Meetings by Steve Sheely (may be out of stock but may find it used at Amazon.com)
• Jump Starts and Soft Landings: 101 More Ways to Kick-Off & End Meetings by Steve Sheely (may be out of stock but may find it used at Amazon.com)
• Ice Breakers & Openers: To Inspire Youth on CD-ROM by Walt Marcum (may be out of stock but may find it used at Amazon.com)
• Fresh Ideas: Games, CrowdBreakers, & Community Builders by Jim Burns (may be out of stock but may find it used at Amazon.com)
• 450 Tantalizing Unfinished Sentences by Les Christie
• Have You Ever...? 450 Intriguing Questions by Les Christie
• What If...? by Les Christie
• Would You Rather . . . ? 465 Questions to Get Teens Talking by Doug Fields
• More Would You Rather...?: 465 Additional Questions by Doug Fields
   
  

• Community Builders for Kids

Curriculum & Bible Study Books For Teaching About Fellowship

• Ephesians: Building a Community in Christ, John Stott Bible Study by John Stott
• Christian Community, LifeGuide Topical Bible Studies by Rob Suggs
• Practical Issues in the Book of Philippians Discussion Guide by Ministry Tools Resource Center
• Connecting with God's Family by Brett Eastman & Karen Lee-Thorp
• Friendship First The 1 Thing You Can't Live Without: Church-Wide Kit by Group Publishing (get more info at their site but puchase for less at our affiliate bookstore link)

General

• A God-Centered Church: Experiencing God Together by Henry Blackaby, Melvin Blackaby
• Becoming a True Spiritual Community: A Profound Vision of What the Church Can Be by Larry Crabb
• Body Life by Ray Stedman
• Community 101 by Gilbert Bilezikian
• Connecting by Larry Crabb
• Everybody's Normal 'Til You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg
• The Connecting Church by Randy Frazee