Saved to Gather

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” — Romans 10:9

Romans 10 will not let Christianity become a private hobby. The heart believes, yes, but the mouth confesses. The preacher is sent. The good news is heard. The feet get moving. Faith in Christ creates a people who speak, sing, gather, encourage, and proclaim together: Jesus is Lord.

That is one of the great gifts of the church. None of us was made to follow Jesus alone, like some sort of spiritual survivalist wandering the wilderness with a Bible, beef jerky, and suspicious opinions about everyone else. We need one another. We need older saints and younger saints, steady saints and zealous saints, wise saints and freshly converted saints. We need people who can remind us of the gospel when we are discouraged, correct us when we are foolish, laugh with us when life is sweet, and sit with us when life is heavy.

The Christian life is communal because the gospel makes us family. Romans 10 reminds us that confession is not merely something we do individually before God, but something we share as the body of Christ. We confess the same Lord, call upon the same Savior, hear the same good news, and are sent with the same message.

That is why this summer’s shared Community Group gatherings are such a gift. Building on previous summers’ CG endeavors, we are again sharing the CG load through joint gatherings every other week. One week will be a shared activity, and the next week each CG is free to meet, rest, invite people over, try something new, or do whatever seems best for the care of the group.

This is not a new law added to Leviticus: “Thou shalt attend every summer gathering, and thou shalt bring a hot dish.” But it is a wonderful opportunity to lean into the life we already share in Christ. These joint nights give us space to cross-pollinate ideas, encourage and learn from one another, catch up with people we do not normally see, and enjoy the wider body God has given us.

Watch for future details to be announced as some groups may host music nights. Some may organize games, bonfires, picnics, neighborhood outreach, kickball, scavenger hunts, meals, or something stranger and better than all of those. Praise God. Let the creativity flow. The point is not that every evening look the same. The point is that the same gospel adorns every evening: Jesus is Lord, and He has made us family.

So bring your lawn chairs. Bring your kids. Bring your questions. Bring your appetite. Bring a neighbor. Bring a willingness to encourage and be encouraged. And together, let’s keep learning to confess with one voice and many lives: Jesus is Lord.

Joyfully confessing Christ with you,

Justin and the elders