Refreshing Faith

It is entirely possible to attend church without really gathering.

We can arrive, find our usual seat, sing a few songs, listen to a stirring message, shake a few hands, and then head home. All of those things may be part of attending church, but biblical gathering is so much more than just being present in the same room at the same time.

God created us to follow Jesus together.

At Fresh Faith, Gather is the first step of our discipleship pathway: Gather, Grow, Give, and Go. Gathering is important because our relationship with God and with one another provides the foundation for everything else. We gather to worship, to encourage, to share life, to help carry burdens, to celebrate victories, and to help each other remain faithful in our pursuit of holiness.

Hebrews 10:24-25 tells believers to consider how they can encourage one another toward love and good works. The passage warns against giving up the habit of meeting together and instead calls Christians to continue encouraging each other.

Notice that the passage does not describe gathering as something we do only for ourselves. It is not just about what we receive from a church service. We gather because someone else may need our presence, someone may need our encouragement, someone may need our prayers or to hear our testimony.

You may arrive at church believing you have little to offer that day. You may feel tired, discouraged, distracted, or that your spiritual tank is empty. Yet God may use your smile, handshake, prayer, or willingness to listen to remind someone else that they are not alone.

Gathering is not only about being fed, it is also about helping to feed and to strengthen others.

The Church as a Shared Life

Acts 2:42-47 gives us a beautiful picture of the early church. The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and to prayer. They worshiped together, shared with those who were in need, met in their homes, and enjoyed life with sincere hearts.

Their faith was not limited to a weekly meeting. They shared a spiritual life with each other.

They learned together.
They prayed together.
They ate together.
They gave together.
They served together.
They grew together.

The early church understood something that is easy for us to forget: Christianity was never intended to be lived alone.

A person can listen to a sermon online, read the Bible privately, pray at home, and listen to worship music in the car. All of those things can be meaningful and important to the believer. However, none of them can completely replace the relationship and the encouragement that come from participating in the life of a local church.

We need people who know us in our lives.

We need people who will celebrate with us when God is working in our lives. We need people who will recognize when we are struggling, wandering, or becoming discouraged. We need people who will pray with us, speak truth to us, and lovingly remind us who God has called us to be.

Returning to the Fire

While I was serving at the Mattoon Church of the Nazarene in Wisconsin, I began learning the art of blacksmithing. Blacksmithing is a wonderful craft, but it requires patience and planning as the metal usually cannot be shaped with only one heating. The metal must be placed in the forge to be heated, removed, hammered, and then returned to the fire again to start the process over.

When metal cools, it becomes increasingly difficult to shape. The blacksmith has to return it to the forge to heat before work can continue because trying to work cold steel often results in microfractures and damages the metal.

The coals of a forge also teach us an important lesson. When they remain together, they retain their heat for a very long time. They strengthen one another and keep each other hot and the fire burning. However, when one coal is separated from the others, it cools off very quickly.

The reality is that the same thing can happen in our spiritual lives.

We often begin with passion and excitement. We start with a sincere desire to follow Jesus. But as our spiritual temperature drops, if we do not return to the fire (spiritual disciplines which we will talk about in a later blog) we can start to see cracks form if we press on without another good soak in the fire.

Sometimes life gets busy, or we allow division to separate us from Christian community, and we find our spiritual lives start to slowly begin to cool. Prayer may become less consistent. Worship may become less important. Discouragement may become stronger. Temptation may become harder to resist. Before long, we may find ourselves spiritually cold without realizing how far we have drifted.

Gathering with other believers helps return us to the fire.

In worship, we are reminded of the goodness and the faithfulness of God. Through Scripture, our minds and hearts are shaped by truth. In fellowship, we are reminded that we are not alone in this battle. Through accountability, we receive the encouragement that we need to press on in becoming the people God has called us to be.

Like steel in the hands of a blacksmith, God is continually shaping us, refining us, honing us. That process often requires us to be placed in the fire again and again.

More Than Sunday Attendance

Sunday worship is an important part of gathering, but it is not the only part.

It is difficult to experience deep fellowship, personal encouragement, and meaningful accountability if all we do is sit in rows during a worship service. We also need opportunities to sit in circles, share our stories, ask questions, admit our struggles, and pray for one another.

That is why small groups and accountability relationships are essential in our walk with the Lord.

At Fresh Faith, our FRG groups provide an opportunity to grow through accountability in our Faith, Relationships, and Going. These groups are designed to help us to develop and maintain healthy relationships and live up to our spiritual goals. In FRG we receive not just accountability but also encouragement.

Accountability is not about controlling or judging one another. It is about having people in our lives who care enough about us to ask how we are doing and whether we are becoming more like Jesus.

We all need someone who can ask:

How is your relationship with God?

Where are you experiencing growth?

What are you struggling with?

What step is God asking you to take?

How can I pray for you?

These are the types of questions that help to keep the fire burning.

Step Back Into the Fire

Perhaps you have been attending church but have remained mostly disconnected. Maybe you arrive right as church is starting or just after it has begun and leave as the pastor says, “Amen.” Perhaps you have considered joining a group or allowing people to get to know you but have not yet taken that step.

This may be the time to move from simply attending to truly gathering.

Participate intentionally in worship. Arrive ready not just to receive, but also ready to encourage someone else. Join a small group. Become part of an FRG group. Take the risk of allowing other believers to know your story, your hopes, and even your struggles.

You were not created to follow Jesus in isolation; you were not meant to do it all on your own.

Coals remain hotter when they burn together. Metal can be shaped when it is returned to the fire. In the same way, we remain spiritually strong when we stay connected to Christ and to the community of brothers and sisters he has placed around us.

Do not settle for just attending church.

Come gather with us as we learn how to better know, love, and share Christ together.