Fellowship. The Bible tells us that fellowshipping with believers in the Lord Jesus Christ is a very important part of our Christian life. Not only do we get to spend time sharing faith with like-minded people, we also get the opportunity to bless and be blessed in praying for others.
For the past few years, I've been spending time with friends from different churches in different places. Their presence in my life has been such a blessing, and I'd like to share a few things that I learned from fellowshipping with them.
1) They may not be in your church, but they're real family.
There are some Christians who are unable to blend in or bond well with Christians from other congregations simply because they don't go to the same church group. Because of this, competition and comparisons may arise, but the truth is that regardless of the name of the congregation or the design of the church building, if both worship and follow the same Lord Jesus Christ, then they're still real family.
It's just like our earthly families, only, not by blood but by God's Spirit. (see Romans 8:14)
2) Sometimes, brothers (or sisters) from other churches are warmer than those in your own congregation
Frankly, I don't understand why this happens, but personally, I have discovered that I can develop Godly friendships in other churches that are a bit or a lot warmer than the ones in my own church. (see 2 Corinthians 8:1-7)
If you take time and reach out to Christians from other congregations, you'll be surprised at how God works in their lives. You'll discover many things that you don't always (or just don't) see in your own church.
3) You're not alone in your struggles
One of the greatest lies of the enemy is the lie that "you're the only one going through what you're going through." In other words, "no one will understand you." This is simply a lie.
Visiting other churches and hearing stories from other believers, whether ministers or church members, opened my eyes to the truth that we all go through the same challenges and struggles, albeit with different details. (1 Peter 5:9)
For example, pastor A complains about a lack of member volunteerism. Pastor B, on the other hand, is too busy with church work that he doesn't have time to rest with his wife. If you take a good look, both of them are overworked and are needing help from others. While there may be differing factors, they both suffer from the same problem.
Family
Friends, if you visit and have Christ-centered, Godly fellowship with brothers and sisters from other God-fearing churches, you'll find that we're all the same. We might look or sound different, but if we're all saved by and following the same Saviour, Jesus Christ, and are growing in obedience to the same God and Father, and are growing in fellowship with the same Holy Spirit, we're still the same family.
I pray that this would encourage you to reach out to others from different churches. We are the body, and we need to be united.
"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many." (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)
