One becomes a Christian, and lives as a Christian, within a community not just as a individual. Jesus selected twelve people as the core group from which to form his community of life and learning. Christianity, as Jesus taught it, was a way of living and was not intended as the formation of a religious institution. While we humans need to codify and create the institutional patterns we call "religion", Jesus was primarily focused on our relationship with God and with one another.
The community of faith gathers to hear the story of Jesus and the people of God from the Christian and Hebrew Scriptures, to offer our prayers and praises and to be fed with the bread of life and cup of salvation. Community connection gives us people with whom we can share our story, and with whom we can be ourselves. As we grow in knowledge and caring for one another we are able to support and encourage one another to live more fully into being the person God calls us to be.
The community also provides us with ways to live out our faith in service to others, and ways to assist one another in growing in faith and love.
Each faith community, like each individual, has a personality and qualities that may attract or repel. Like most relationships it takes time to discern whether a faith community is a right fit for your spiritual needs and personality. One needs, for example, to determine which faith community nurtures you and feeds your spirit. Being part of a community that you find life-giving is important to your spiritual growth and life journey.
