Breaking Through to Community

As we sat down for our community group, one of the couples made a difficult admission.  The rubber tires on their car had begun to separate making it dangerous for them to drive. It was a surprise that they shared this bit of information because, well, we just don’t admit our needs.  We certainly don’t reveal them in public.  But something had happened in our community group after we’d been meeting together for a few months.  People became honest.  We learned about kids not doing well in school. Parents shared their anguish about their son who was experimenting with marijuana, and yes, the family in financial trouble began to open up.  Our group had begun to break through to true community.

The way it works is this: As new groups begin there is false community.  People all look and sound good.  There is no evidence of deep needs or wounds.  People are polite but not real.  This is not true community.  When people are guarded and afraid of coming out of hiding, it is hard to love each other and support each other.  But when people begin to trust and share their lives with each other, then God does amazing things among them.  The night the couple shared about their financial struggles with our group, two other couples pitched in to buy them new tires.  Our prayers also changed.  They gained a new honesty and intensity that we’d never experienced before.  The result was a depth of relationships that we all agreed we needed and personal and spiritual growth we never anticipated.

This is one reason why I am such an advocate of community groups.  Yes, Jesus commanded us to come together in community.  That should be reason enough.  I think our group experienced at least part of the reason Jesus asked us to do this.

²Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6

Granada is starting 19 new community groups beginning the week of Easter.  Our hope is that more and more of our church will benefit from Life Together.