A Church That Cares

If you’re not a part of a church, I would encourage you to find a church somewhere that preaches from the Bible, has a program that reaches out into the local community or world through missions, has a program that teaches children solidly from the Bible in an engaging way (if you have children), and has a program that reaches within the church to build community between its members and to support individual members of the congregation through both the good and bad times.

Even then, your class can be a community in itself. I encourage you to develop community through your classroom in order to help all your classmates get through school both mentally and spiritually. Here is an example of how a church community can be so beneficial:

While traveling together, my wife and I started talking with a delightful young woman we met. The time passed quickly as we chatted about lighthearted topics. But when she heard that I was a minister, the conversation took a heart-wrenching turn. She began to share with us that when her husband left her only a few months earlier, she had struggled with the pain of that abandonment.

Then she smiled and said, “I can’t tell you how much my church has meant to me these past months.” Her mood and countenance changed dramatically as she recounted the ways her church family had wrapped their loving arms around her in her season of heartache. It was refreshing to hear how that local assembly had surrounded her with the love of Christ.

Far too often, it seems, we limit the significance of church to what happens on Sunday. But the church is to be so much more. It is to be a safe haven, a rescue station, a training center for spiritual service. It is particularly to be an expression of the concerned heart of the Lord for hurting, broken people, such as our young friend.

Don’t let your classroom community be limited to the days that you meet. Christ’s love is with us 24/7/365, and we should be ready to share His love with others on the same schedule.