01 Jul Fellowship: A Key to the Local Church
One word that was always mentioned as I grew up around church was fellowship. There was a fellowship hymn, a time where one verse of a song was played, and everyone walked around the sanctuary and greeted the same person every week. The questions and responses to those questions always seemed to be the same. In almost every church there is a ?fellowship hall? where food is served after big occasions in the church or where there may be some sort of bible study being held. The word fellowship was and still is tossed around and I was truly confused of what fellowshipping with other Christians actually looked like.
Summer LINK has been such an amazing opportunity for many reasons. Being able to utilize the gifts God has granted to me has been a tremendous experience. I am working with the youth in Greenville this summer and it has been quite a ride. From helping plan events, leading in teaching, and serving the youth in many ways, I have experienced and cherished learning what true fellowship in a local church looks like. We all have a comfort zone we want to protect ourselves with and never push the boundaries of that comfort zone. Connecting and creating friendships with the youth, as well as my mentor, during this process has opened up a new world that involves this important aspect that is fellowship.
During this summer the Greenville team has been reading through a book entitled We Belong Together written by Bruce Milne. This book focuses on the fellowship aspect of the local church community and its importance. The main idea in this book deals with the meaning of fellowship. Pursuing fellowship in the local church is a sweet gift God gives us and is an imperfect glimpse of the perfect community we will share with Christ when He returns. This truth should motivate us to have meaningful relationships with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. In my own personal experience this summer, this involves pursuing meaningful relationships with mentors, as well as the youth, to continue to be conformed to Christ. Fellowship has just been one experience from Summer LINK, but it has been one of the most impactful experiences this summer and I will be forever grateful for it.
For the Kingdom,
Cody Kopacz