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During my college years, I spent one summer on a mission trip across the country. I wanted to broaden my faith and serve God, and if I’m honest, living on the beach in Southern California sounded like a sweet deal. Before this experience, I’d say I was very comfortable, complacent even, in my spiritual life. I sure wasn’t prepared for all the wild and wonderful ways God would change me through my new community. I didn’t know growing together with my spiritual community could be so rewarding.
I spent the next 10 weeks living, working, worshipping, and serving the city alongside 100 other college students from around the country. Now, I was blessed to grow up in a church community, but I had never seen a group of my peers so passionate for the Lord. They pushed me out of my comfort zone, challenged my beliefs in the best ways, grabbed my hands and ran toward a deeper understanding and love for God.
Spiritual Growth is Challenging
Trying to grow spiritually by yourself is even more challenging than growing together with others of shared faith. Proverbs 27:17 puts it better than I can: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
During my mission trip, I met weekly with my mentor, an older woman named Allie. Before then, I didn’t have many mentors who really took the time with me. I was used to being the Sunday school kid who always knew the right answers, and it had given me a sense of pride. I couldn’t be taught; I couldn’t be improved.
Boy did Allie prove me wrong. The Holy Spirit gifted her with insight into my heart. Over that summer she teased out the lies, the insecurities, the pride. She challenged me in my faith. I have her wisdom to thank for much of what I learned during those months.
Community is a Gift
I’ve always been a bit of a loner. I spend a great deal of time in my own head. It’s simply easier than to risk being hurt by opening up to others. But the body of Christ cannot be the body all in separate parts. God designed us to need one another and grow together in our relationship with our heavenly Father.
Many adventures filled my summer. From desert hikes, to amusement park rides, to an impromptu road trip at 3 a.m., fun filled our free time. But the way the group of young believers lived out life made the trip more meaningful. It looked so similar to the passage in Acts 2:46-47: “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. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
What a gift it is to experience the bond of a community, all united around a love of God and His heart for the world. Growing together with these people in our bond as a family of God changed my life.
Community is a Responsibility
That summer, God laid the responsibility on my heart to reconnect with an estranged sibling. Best friends growing up, we hadn’t spoken in more than a year after a devastating argument. My peers rallied around me. They encouraged me to obey God’s voice to be the first one to call and reconcile. Years later, our relationship is better for that call.
No matter where you are in your faith journey, you can find ways to be a support and encouragement to others. It might be uncomfortable, but it is incredibly worthwhile. Listen to the Holy Spirit’s gentle nudges to grow together with others in your faith family.
Listen now to a short segment of an Abide meditation based on Revelation 7:9-10. Let God speak to your heart about the significance of growing together.
Who’s in Your Village?
Look at your community and try to identify three categories of people with whom you can grow together.
- Who’s Before You?
Who are the older people, the more spiritually mature? Who can you go to for advice?
- Who’s Beside You?
Who is in a similar spiritual stage as you? Think of ways you can link arms and challenge one another to grow.
- Who’s Behind You?
Who can you teach, mentor, or serve? How can you be a blessing to others who may need it?
Since that summer, all of us from that mission trip have grown up. We’ve moved around the world and started careers and families. It is a blessing to remain connected in prayer and know that one day we will all reunite in Heaven. Our summer of growing together truly made us a family.
Let Abide be your daily companion as you learn that growing together with others increases your growth. Our more than 1500 biblical meditations all exist to help you spend time in God’s Word. Download the app and start a premium subscription to unlock our entire library of content. Use this link for 25% off.
Kathryn is dedicated to helping others connect with God through storytelling. These days, she is mastering the skill of typing with one hand while using the other to play with her one-year old in Orlando, Fla.”
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