What is Community and What Does The Bible Say About It?
Last night, at my small group, I spoke on the importance of community and why we all need it - especially as Christians! Below are my notes. I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!
Here’s the question of the hour: What is Community and what does Community consist of?
Friendship
Growth & Maturity
Sacrifice & Consistency
Intentionality
Friendship/Life
We were made for relationships - with God and with each other. God is not all you need, you also need people. If God was all we needed, Adam would not have needed a partner.
Genesis 2:18 - The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
While many Christians say “God is all I need,” the Bible clearly shows that God created us to need and live in relationship with others. Even in a perfect world, Adam needed someone who was like him, someone he could relate to on a physical and emotional level in his humanity.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 - “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. … Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
1 Corinthians 12 - “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’” (v. 21)
Paul describes the Church as a body made up of many parts, each essential. God designed the Church so that believers depend on each other, not function independently.
Galatians 6:2 - “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
The law of Christ (love) is fulfilled through mutual care, not solo spirituality.
Growth/Maturity
"A sheep off by itself is more open to attack and to be dragged off by a wolf. A sheep with the flock is much safer and isn't alone/isolated." - my Aunt Jo
Safe and authentic community calls people in, welcomes, and makes space for people to truly know each other - scars, wounds, and all other sorts of mess without judgement, bashing, or assumption. Safe and authentic community says "we welcome you and we love you and we want to see you as God's best version of who you were created to be and we will walk alongside you as you walk alongside us".
Spiritual growth is not just a personal journey - it happens best in community, where encouragement, correction, teaching, and accountability shape us into being like Jesus. We grow, flourish, and thrive in community.
Proverbs 27:17 - “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Hebrews 3:13 - But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Colossians 3:16 - Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Points:
Discouragement, temptation, and isolation are real threats. God designed encouragement as protection. One word of hope from a friend can do wonders.
We weren’t meant to survive spiritually on our own - we need voices that lift us, challenge us, and remind us of God’s truth.
Real maturity includes being willing to speak the truth in love, and also being humble enough to receive it.
When someone is in sin (or acting outside of their identity), community steps in - not to judge, but to restore, to pray, to encourage. It takes Spirit-filled people to gently guide each other.
This kind of relationship requires trust, honesty, and humility
Correction should always be done in a loving spirit. That doesn’t mean it has to be soft and comfortable, but it has to come from what LOVE IS.
Harsh truth has a place but it’s God’s kindness that draws us to repentance so we ought to do the same with each other.
And, not every person is meant to be up in your business. Know when it is your place/appropriate for you to offer correction.
Teachability
An unteachable spirit will not go far. When we decide we can’t learn from someone else we decide that our revelation is superior - PRIDE. When we are unable to hear how we have hurt others, made a mistake, or are wrong - we are showing we are unteachable.
We can all learn from each other - regardless of where we are in our spiritual walk.
Remain teachable and open to hear. When someone confronts you, listen and take that to Jesus and a trusted friend who knows you well.
Vulnerability
Community requires us to be vulnerable - not with every person but with safe people who can honor our vulnerability and create a safe space for the care that is needed.
Sacrifice & Consistency
Philippians 2:3–4 - “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Community requires us to give of ourselves and that includes giving of ourselves when it isn't convenient - when your friend needs help moving, or cooking a meal for someone needing help, watching your friend's kids, picking up prescriptions for someone stuck at home. Sometimes I have to sacrifice what is convenient for ME so I can support YOU and be a good member of OUR community. It isn't just "what can I GET but how can I GIVE".
Example: a couple of weeks my husband and I had our first day completely off - no commitments and finally time to just have a day together. At 12:30 a friend texted me an SOS - they were drowning and needed our help. Luke and I whined about it in our heads because watching people’s kids is not our favorite thing and their kids don’t know us super well (what if they hated us and didn’t listen) but we knew our friends needed us and it wasn’t about us. So we showed up and, SURPRISE, we had a great time watching our friends kids (so they could go to Urgent Care) - the boys were so well behaved and fun and I now know I can watch their kids again and not be worried it will be stressful.
The point - it wasn’t convenient for us, but we did it to show up for our friends who have also showed up for us when it hasn’t been convenient or fun for them. That’s what community does.
Love is sacrificial. Love is not always about us.
Colossians 3:13-14 - Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
I Corinthians 13: 4-8 - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Sacrificial love involves patience, forgiveness, and grace, especially in conflict.
Real community means staying committed even when people let you down.
Be dependable, reliable, and consistent. Consistency shows that you value the people in your community - their time, their gifts, their presence. Consistency says, "I am here, even if I am exhausted and overwhelmed, I am still here". And, consistency also requires sacrifice - showing up when you'd rather sit in front of the TV or play video games, etc.
Intentionality
Being intentional requires us to think of other people, check in on other people, and love other people in ways they need to be loved. Example: my friend Ashley was out and saw this little air freshener that had the words "I love that for you" on it and she bought it for me because I say that ALL THE TIME and it made her think of me. I am a gifts person and that small gesture made me feel seen and loved.
Being intentional often requires sacrifice - sacrificing our 30 minutes of evening television to check in on a friend going through a hard time, taking the time to send an encouraging text or two to people needing extra positivity and encouragement, or doing something FOR someone that isn't necessarily YOUR favorite thing to do (see above on sacrifice).
Being intentional doesn't mean you have to be intentional with 50 people - pick a few people to practice intentionality with consistently and in the large scale of community, be intentional where you can.
Final Thought
Community isn’t just something nice or optional - it’s how God made us to live. It takes work. It takes sacrifice, patience, humility, and being intentional. We weren’t meant to do this life or this faith thing alone. God wants us connected to Him and to other people who will encourage us, challenge us, and love us well.
So let’s choose to live in real community - a community where love means giving even when it’s hard, where we help each other grow, and where we show up consistently for one another.