We have talked mostly about worship in song or lifestyle. But let’s chat about community.
This past week I saw this idea lived out. The group of missionaries I spent time with- about 100-150 people, worshipped not simply by singing, but by being a community.
What Is Worship As Community
People need community. Having people surrounding you to help lift you up when you need lifting, make you laugh when you want to cry, to cry with you when you do cry, to help take care of each other. Being Jesus to one another.
When we view the people around us and look at their needs and how we can meet them, we form a community. When we do that with Jesus as our center- we worship Him by doing what He asked.
In Acts we see the church being more than just a building, more than just a group of people- but a community focused on telling others about Jesus and meeting the needs of those around them.
At the conference this past week, I got the chance to sit down and talk with people. People who just needed an ear to listen to some of their problems, and to encourage them to keep trusting. There was one group I want to talk about specifically though. The Journeymen.
The Journeyman program is a two year program for young adults with a college degree to serve overseas. They are spread all over the world. But this group of people had such a tight knit relationship. It was honestly a little hard for me to “break in” with them, but when I did I think they blessed me more than I blessed them!
These guys prayed for each other constantly, many of them only saw each other every two years at the conference (like a lot of the missionaries). So when they did get together, they held tight. Every time you saw one- you saw four. They did life together, even if that life was thousands of miles away (there is one team in Paris) from one another.
When you worship by being part of a Jesus focused community- you have people who have your back. Who will listen when you call, who will help you when you fall. Because you are more than just people- you are family. I love that every missionary kid called me “Uncle Josh” this week. Because to these kids- we are all family!
Worship as community is not going to church. It is not “checking off the attendance box”. It is getting your hands dirty, being involved, helping to raise up future leaders while being poured into by the leaders of yesterday.
Community is not about you or me, but it is about us.
Being a part of a community is not so that you can get your needs met or so I can get mine met. It is so we aren’t alone. Don’t think of it as “what can I get from them” but more of “what can I do for them”. if we all have that mentality then every need will get met selflessly and whole heartedly.
At Velocity– we want to build a community, not a roster. If you are interested in being part of our community, or if you need someone to talk to- please email us. We have small groups that you can plug yourself into, volunteer positions to help get plugged in, and people that want to do life along side of you.
Are you worshipping by being a part of a community?
Velocity Worship 