Having a church family provides countless benefits and blessings. Here are some of the key values of being part of a church community:
Fellowship
One of the greatest values of having a church family is the gift of Christian fellowship. As Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” God did not design believers to follow Him in isolation. We need fellowship, community, and accountability to grow in our faith.
Being part of a local church provides opportunities to build relationships with other Christians. We can pray for each other, care for each other, and encourage one another in love. The New Testament speaks often of the “one another” commands – to love one another, instruct one another, serve one another. These commands are lived out through fellowship within the body of Christ.
Discipleship
A church family also provides discipleship – the ability to be taught God’s Word and grow in spiritual maturity. Ephesians 4:11-16 describes how God has given the church pastors and teachers to equip the saints for ministry. The local church is where believers come to learn sound doctrine, be discipled in the faith, and become more like Christ.
Within the church family, more mature Christians can invest in new believers and those less grounded in the faith. Through small groups, Sunday School classes, mentorships, and friendships, church members build each other up in love and truth. The blessing of discipleship happens best within the nurturing environment of the local church.
Spiritual Gifts
Every Christian has been given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit to build up the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7). A church family provides opportunities to discover those gifts and use them for God’s glory. Within the context of relationships and ministry in the local church, believers can identify their spiritual gifts and abilities.
The church also needs the contribution of each person and their spiritual gifts. As Romans 12:4-6 says, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” Just as a physical body needs all its parts, the body of Christ needs each person to use their unique gifts.
Service Opportunities
The church is the vehicle through which God accomplishes His work on earth. He calls every believer to partner with Him in advancing His kingdom. A church family provides many opportunities for involvement and service – teaching Sunday School, leading a small group, volunteering with youth, going on missions trips, feeding the hungry, and so much more.
As Christians serve together, they are living out God’s call in Matthew 25:35-40 to care for those in need. Service also allows us to use our gifts and abilities for God’s glory. Being part of a church provides a platform for becoming the hands and feet of Jesus in both local and global mission fields.
Worship
One of the great joys of belonging to a church is the ability to worship with fellow believers. Psalm 150:1-2 says, “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!” Singing, praying, hearing the Word, taking Communion, and giving tithes and offerings are all key aspects of worship best experienced in community.
Corporate worship builds our faith and fuels us to serve and honor God with our lives. Gathering with the church in worship is also a testimony to the watching world of our love for Christ and reliance on Him. As the body of Christ joins in unified worship, God receives all glory and praise.
Leadership
God gives spiritual leaders – like pastors, elders, and overseers – to provide care, direction, and accountability to church members (1 Peter 5:1-5; Hebrews 13:17). As Ephesians 4:11 states, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers…” Spiritual leaders help believers stay rooted in sound doctrine and avoid the dangers of false teaching.
Within the church, leaders perform key duties like preaching, administering the sacraments, providing biblical counsel, settling disputes, and prayer. They sacrificially serve the body of Christ as undershepherds dedicated to the welfare of the flock. Church members benefit greatly from submitting to godly leadership.
Community
The local church is a community and family for its members. It provides a sense of belonging, care, support, and identity. Within their church, believers are known and loved as fellow members united in Christ.
This community is especially important for life’s difficulties. In times of grief, illness, job loss, moves, births, and more, the church surrounds members with prayer, meals, financial aid, childcare, and anything else required. It is the body of Christ loving each other through seasons of celebration and sorrow.
Unity Across Differences
Within any church, there will be diversity of age, gender, race, maturity, preferences, and personalities. Yet in the body of Christ, those differences fade away through the unifying power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus prayed for oneness among believers in John 17:21, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.”
A church family brings together people who may never meet otherwise. It provides a picture of believers unified in Christ across all differences. In the church, we learn to live in harmony with fellow Christians we may not fully see eye-to-eye with on secondary issues. This witness of unity highlights the power of the gospel.
Multi-Generational Faith
The church is one of the few places where families of all ages worship, serve, and grow together. Children benefit from seeing older saints demonstrate mature faith. Younger families inspire older members with their passion and energy for Christ. Teenagers need the wisdom and guidance of those further along in their walk.
In a church family, the gospel is lived out and taught across generational lines. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” The Christian faith is passed from generation to generation within the context of the local church.
Gospel Witness
The church family on earth is meant to be a reflection of God’s household (1 Timothy 3:15). As members fulfill their various roles and serve in unity, they provide a glimpse of the eternal kingdom of God. The loving community and genuine care for one another within the church can draw unbelievers to Christ.
Individual believers also benefit from the support and accountability of church membership which helps them live out a faithful witness. As God’s adopted sons and daughters, Christians have the privilege of testifying to what God has done through the gospel message lived out in community.
Spiritual Protection
Belonging to a Bible-believing church is a safeguard against false teaching and drifting from truth. In a culture of confusion, the church upholds God’s Word and anchors believers in sound doctrine. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Spiritual strength is found in community.
Church leaders guard against false doctrine creeping in. Fellow members lovingly hold each other accountable and spur one another to godliness. Biblical community provides the discernment, wisdom, and comfort needed to withstand attacks from the world, the flesh, and the Enemy.
Cooperation in Mission
The Great Commission calls all Christians to share the gospel at home and abroad (Matthew 28:19-20). This mission is best accomplished through the efforts of the local church. Pooling resources, networks, talents, and finances allows church members to support missionaries, translate Scriptures, provide disaster relief, and spread the good news globally.
Having a shared purpose and common mission unifies the church. It also enables them to send out laborers into the harvest field and fund the mission. Belonging to a gospel-advancing church family allows each believer to be part of kingdom work worldwide.
Counsel and Correction
Inevitably, believers will face difficulties, make unwise choices, or fall into sin. A church family provides counsel, comfort, accountability, and correction to help members back onto a godly path. Pastors, leaders, and fellow believers provide biblical wisdom when it’s needed most.
Galatians 6:1-2 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Belonging to a biblical community helps steer Christians away from sin and error.
Baptism and Communion
The church is where believers experience baptism and communion with other Christians. These sacred ordinances were given to the gathered church. Through baptism, new converts publicly identify with Christ and His body on earth. The Lord’s Supper proclaims the good news of salvation to the body of believers until He returns.
Matthew 28:19 says to baptize disciples “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 11:26 states, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Baptism and Communion hold deep spiritual significance for believers.
Cultivating the Fruits of the Spirit
As church members interact, serve, and encounter life’s ups and downs together, they cultivate the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (Galatians 5:22-23). Christian growth and sanctification happen in the context of koinonia – a close fellowship and union with fellow believers.
Within this spiritual family, members sharpen one another, display grace and mercy, bear each other’s burdens, confess sins, and stir up love and godliness. Biblical community provides believers with relationships that develop Christlike character.
Joy in Life’s Trials
When church members experience illness, grief, poverty, sadness, or pain, the body of Christ surrounds them with support, encouragement, and tangible help. Other believers provide strength and endurance even in the most difficult trials of life.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 describes this great blessing, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” The church brings comfort amid life’s sorrows.
Teaching Children God’s Ways
From nursery to youth group, church provides age-appropriate opportunities for children to learn about Jesus. God commands parents in Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” The church equips parents in this vital duty.
Children also benefit from the examples, mentorship, and involvement of other adults who love Jesus. The spiritual heritage of the church is passed to the next generation within the bonds of the church family.
The Hope of Eternity
The church on earth is not perfect, but it is made up of redeemed sinners now adopted as God’s children. Positioned within the challenging world, the church holds fast to the hope of eternity with Christ. This heavenly perspective changes how believers view trials, time, possessions, relationships, and the brokenness around them.
With eternity in mind, the church lives each day in light of the glorious return of Jesus Christ. Church family keeps believers rooted in the temporal reality of this life and the eternal promises of the life to come.
Experiencing God’s Presence
Jesus promised His followers in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” God’s presence dwells within and moves through His gathered people in profound ways. Through the church, believers experience the beauty, holiness, power, and comfort of God’s nearness.
The Holy Spirit unites and sanctifies the body of Christ. God manifests His glory as imperfect people surrender to Him. The church becomes the spiritual home where God meets intimately with His children.
In conclusion, belonging to a local church provides immense blessings and innumerable benefits. It is where disciples are made, leaders are developed, the hurting find comfort, families grow together, and gospel mission happens. Church is the God-ordained place for believers to live out their faith in community.
