13 Tips to Build a Strong Christian Community for Your Family

Followers of Christ were not intended to be the “Lone Ranger.” We were designed to be part of the Body of Christ. We need Jesus most of all. We also need fellowship with other believers. No one person has all of the spiritual gifts (described in 1 Cor. 12). We are to work together just like the human body.

An eye by itself wouldn’t be able to get much done. A hand cut off and laying on the ground can’t do any work or bless anyone.

We start by each being yielded fully to Jesus as Lord and seek a strong individual walk with Him. Then we are all joined together and the power of the Holy Spirit of the Living God flows through us all. He empowers us with His love and unity and it is amazing what He can do!

HOW CAN YOU FOSTER A STRONG CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY FOR YOUR FAMILY?

13 ideas to prayerfully consider to build Christian friendships.

  1. Seek to join a Bible-teaching, Bible-living, Spirit-filled church. (I know this is more challenging in some areas than others.)
  2. Get yourself and your children involved in small-groups every week where there is time for Bible teaching, ministry to others, and time for fellowship.
  3. Invite other families of believers over to your home for a few hours on Friday night or Saturday. Or have a bonfire or cookout at a park. Everyone can bring part of the meal.
  4. Get other wives’/mom’s cell numbers and stay connected through the week.
  5. When wonderful things happen in your believing friends’ families, go celebrate with them! Take them food when a baby is born. Go to each others’ birthday parties. Do fun things together.
  6. When painful things happen, be there for each other. Go get groceries for a family that just experienced a death. Get together with another family or two and take dinner to a family that is reeling from a cancer diagnosis. Offer to help take care of each other’s kids when someone is sick or grieving.
  7. Get the ladies and kids together for the kids to get to play or hang out and for the moms/wives to be able to fellowship if schedules allow for it. Talk about what God is doing in your lives.
  8. Pray together with the other couples over your families, your church, the country, and/or the world.
  9. Share prayer requests during the week and pray for each other individually.
  10. Invite the kids to pray together (especially if they are older) or include them with the adults to pray for specific things.
  11. Consider inviting an unbelieving family to join you just to love on them and minister to them sometimes. You may be able to lovingly, gently share the gospel as the Spirit leads.
  12. Consider doing some kind of ministry project together as a cluster of families—something that the kids can be actively involved in, too.
  13. Consider rotating families you invite over, if you have a lot of families in your church, so that you can build an even bigger community of blessing.

Building a strong community of believers takes time. It requires sacrifice of other things. But it is SO worth it!

This is something Greg and I are committed to doing a lot more of in 2020.

What a joy to laugh and enjoy fellowship with amazing Christian friends while hearing all of our kids laughing and playing games together and having a blast in the next room.

That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

1 Cor. 12:25-27

Praying for God to open doors to each of us to build a stronger community of believers around us and in our churches.

Pray with Me

Lord,

We thank You for Your answers to prayer and for strong Christian friends. We pray You might provide this blessing to every woman and family represented here. Help us see opportunities and continue to reach out and not get discouraged when people’s schedules are busy. Help us to build strong, godly relationships that bring glory and honor to You and that strengthen our faith and the faith of our children and families.

Help us to love You first with all our hearts and to love others with Your love. You prayed in John 17 for Your church to be united and without division. We pray this with you and invite You to do the supernatural work in us that only You can do.

Be glorified in our lives individually, in our marriages, in our families, and in our church communities.

Amen!

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Heb. 10:24-25

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What ways have you found that work to build a strong community of Christ-followers for your family? We’d love to hear about it!

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