Today (Monday) I am missing my LCC family. Sunday is more than content streamed across the internet. Yesterday was a victory! We had more “visitors” yesterday than we have had all year. The online “attendance” made yesterday our largest service of the year so far. I, however, keep going through each of your faces in my mind and feeling as if we missed the best part of church-each other.
We teach regularly at LCC that you belong in fellowship with other believers:
“Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10
“You are a member of God’s very own family… and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” Ephesians 2:19 (LB)
“So in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5
We teach that we need each other to grow spiritually:
“Let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds.” Hebrews10:24 (Ph)
“Every day…keep encouraging one another so that none of you is hardened by the glamour of sin.” Hebrews 3:13 (LB)
We teach that Christ is present when we gather:
“For wherever two or three have come together in my name, I am there, right among them!” Matthew 18:20 (GN)
We teach that there is power in prayer when we come together:
“Whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:19 (GN)
We teach that our fellowship is a witness to the world:
(Jesus) “My prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind so the world will believe you sent me.” John 17:21 (LB)
We teach that we are only complete when we are together, and gifts are operating:
“God has given you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other…” 1 Peter 4:10 (LB)
“There are different kinds of service to God…together you form the body of Christ and each one of you is a necessary part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:5
Fellowship involves some “one anothers” that only happen when we are part of a faith community: serve one another (Gal 5:13), accept one another (Rom 15:7), forgive one another (Col 3:13), greet one another (Rom 16:16), bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2), be devoted to one another (Rom 12:10), honor one another (Rom 12:10), teach one another (Rom 15:14), submit to one another (Eph 5:21), and encourage one another (1 Thes 5:11).
During this quarantine, we are going to have to think out of the box to keep connected to each other. We also need to think of how we connect new people to our community. We have increased followers on our FB page at a record rate, and we need to include them.
Previous strategies all involved meeting together in person, and it is challenging to think past the older strategies. My son, though, has many close friends that he has only met through online gaming. Perhaps there is a way we can stay connected to each other. We need each other more than ever.
Some ideas (please post your ideas in the comments):
Facetime or Skype with at least two LCCers each day. We need to see people daily.
Start a text group with your class or small group and exchange thoughts throughout the day.
Post some photos of your surroundings to the LCC FB group page.
Share your activities to social media and comment on other’s posts.
Share some photos of past LCC gatherings so we can all remember and look forward meeting again in person.
Use Google Hangouts or Zoom to have a small group meeting or prayer session. You can post an invite to the group FB page and invite others. (The FB page: https://www.facebook.com/PositiveLifeChange/ is open to almost anyone, the group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/25666015098/ is a closed group with a smaller group of LCCers)
We need each other to maintain our spiritual center during this time. Take a few minutes and engage someone right now.
Life Change 