The early church met in homes for the first 300 years of its existence. As you can imagine, the homes were very small. In other words, beginning with the early church, churches were really nothing more than what you would call a collection of small groups.
Long before the church ever had worship centers and pulpits, they had kitchens and dinner tables. God understood there is a need in every believer's life for community and for fellowship and breaking bread together. It’s one of the proven avenues of increasing spiritual growth and building fellowship. That’s why getting involved in community through small groups should be important in our churches and faith walk.
Consider the genius of God's plan. This first generation of Christians was a fruit basket turnover of different cultures, different backgrounds, at least 15 different nationalities where Jews stood next to Gentiles, men were worshipping with women, and the rich were sitting next to the poor. They grew in faith and numbers without the benefit of a building, a budget, land, or money. How did it happen?
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47 NIV)
Remember these converts were Jewish. They were accustomed to going to the temple and worshipping the Lord together. They were very familiar with being in a congregation, but now God was moving them to a deeper level from congregation to community. To put it another way, from membership to fellowship.
“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” This was something that really had never been done before. People were now meeting for worship, prayers, and fellowship in homes, often around a shared meal together.
Such meetings are still important for us today. When we break bread together or when we open our home to someone for Christian fellowship, we are sharing ''I want to invest part of my life in a part of your life and get to know you better.” It’s a great way of growing from being just a congregation to being a community of faith.
If you think about it, real church is not just a place where we go. Church is a family where we belong. It’s easy to spot a family that really loves each other, because they love to be in community together. Let’s grow in that love for the glory of God and the building of His Kingdom!
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