Get Started & Discover

Week 11: Building Community and Fellowship

  • Scripture Focus: Hebrews 10:24-25
  • Parable: The Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14) - Embracing community.
  • Story: A family actively involved in their church community and the positive impact it has had on their children.
  • Reflection: Consider ways to enhance your family's involvement in your faith community.
  • Prayer: Ask for connections and opportunities to contribute positively to your community.

Story: Bernard and Kathy’s Journey to Building Community and Fellowship

Bernard and Kathy had been married for over 20 years and had raised three children. Throughout their marriage, they focused largely on their immediate family—providing for their children’s needs, supporting them through school and life’s challenges. However, as their children grew older and started families of their own, Bernard and Kathy felt a gentle prompting from the Lord: they needed to reconnect with their faith community and embrace the fellowship of believers.

One Sunday at church, their pastor shared the parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14), emphasizing how God’s invitation to His fellowship is open to everyone, and how vital it is for believers to come together and support one another in faith. As Bernard and Kathy listened, they realized that their family had been missing out on the blessing of vibrant fellowship and community — a vital part of growing in Christ.

They made a decision to become more actively involved. Bernard volunteered to serve in the community outreach program, and Kathy began leading a small women’s prayer group. They also started attending evening Bible studies together and making new friends within their church. Their children, seeing their parents’s changed attitude and involvement, became more interested in the church and began joining in youth activities and service projects.

Over time, the family experienced renewed joy and stronger bonds because they no longer saw church and fellowship as optional but as essential to their spiritual growth. Their children learned that faith is not just personal but is meant to be shared and celebrated with others—living out the love of Christ through acts of service, encouragement, and fellowship.

Bernard and Kathy discovered that building community involved openness, love, and a willingness to serve others, just as Christ taught. Their family became a shining example of unity in faith, drawing closer to God and each other. They found that participating actively in their church community provided strength, encouragement, and a sense of purpose rooted in Jesus’ love.

Their journey reinforced that the church is a family—a divine fellowship—and they committed to fostering deep connections within that family. As they embraced the biblical call to community, it transformed their walk with Jesus and enriched their family life more than they ever imagined.

Reflection:

How can your family deepen your involvement in your faith community? Are there ways you can serve, encourage others, or build meaningful friendships within your church? Consider practical steps you can take to grow in fellowship.

Keys and Tips for Parenting: Building Community and Fellowship

1. Model Active Community Engagement 

  • Show your children what it means to be involved in a community by participating actively in church and local events.
  • Invite them to join you in service, fellowship, and caring for others.

2. Teach the Value of Relationships 

  • Encourage your children to build friendships and interact respectfully with others.
  • Emphasize that relationships are a way to live out Christ’s love and serve others.

3. Involve Your Family in Service 

  • Engage in family service projects, such as volunteering at a food bank or helping neighbors.
  • Teach children that serving others creates bonds and reflects Jesus’ love.

4. Foster Openness and Acceptance 

  • Teach children to accept others regardless of differences—background, race, or beliefs—as reflections of God’s love.
  • Lead by example in demonstrating hospitality, kindness, and acceptance.

5. Celebrate Community Life 

  • Participate in church events, small groups, or family-centered activities.
  • Celebrate milestones and spiritual growth with others in your faith community.

6. Pray for Your Community 

  • Regularly pray together as a family for your church, neighborhood, and those in need.
  • Teach children that prayer connects us with others and God’s heart for His people.

7. Encourage Listening and Empathy 

  • Teach children to listen without judgment and to show empathy in their interactions.
  • Help them understand that community is built on mutual respect and understanding.

8. Teach the Biblical Foundation 

  • Use Scripture, such as Hebrews 10:24-25 and the parable of the Wedding Banquet, to emphasize the importance of fellowship.
  • Remind children that the church is a family created by God for mutual support.

9. Create Opportunities for Fellowship at Home 

  • Invite friends and family over for meals, Bible studies, or joint service projects.
  • Show children that building community starts in the home and extends outward.

10. Be Patient and Persistent 

  • Building lasting relationships takes time. Encourage your children to be kind, patient, and consistent in their interactions.
  • Teach that community and fellowship grow as they practice love, forgiveness, and service.

6 Verses for Meditation (One Verse a Day)

1. Hebrews 10:24-25

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Reflection: Encouragement and regular fellowship strengthen bonds. Make time for community with your family and church to grow in love and faith.

2. Romans 12:10

"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."
Reflection: Building a community begins with developing genuine love and respect for others. Teach your children to honor and care for those around them.

3. Matthew 22:37-39

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... Love your neighbor as yourself."
Reflection: Loving God empowers us to love others. Encourage children to see their community as part of God’s family, which they are called to love and serve.

4. Ephesians 4:2-3

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."
Reflection: Unity in community requires patience, humility, and effort. Teach children that unity and peace come through kindness and patience.

5. Matthew 18:20

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
Reflection: Community is a place of divine presence. Encourage your children to seek fellowship and community because Jesus promises His presence when we gather in His name.

6. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ... For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free... Even so, the body is not made up of one part but of many."
Reflection: Emphasize that everyone has a role in the community. Teach your children that unity in diversity reflects Christ’s body and His love.

Prayer for Building Community and Fellowship in Parenting

Heavenly Father,
We come before You with grateful hearts, acknowledging that You are the God of love and unity. Thank You for creating us to live in community and for the gift of family, church, and fellowship that help us grow in faith and love.

Lord, we ask for Your guidance and wisdom as we teach our children the importance of building genuine community. Help us to model love, humility, patience, and kindness in our relationships—both within our family and in our church family. Teach us to be inclusive, compassionate, and welcoming, just as Jesus showed us in His life.

Fill our hearts with a desire to encourage and uplift others. Show us ways to serve, listen, and love our neighbors and our faith community. Help our children to understand that fellowship is more than just gathering—it is about living out Christ’s love through our actions, words, and attitudes.

Lord, plant within our children a longing to connect with others, to be peacemakers, and to reflect Your love to everyone they meet. Help us to create a home filled with warmth, hospitality, and unity—where everyone feels valued and accepted.

We pray for divine opportunities to strengthen our community, both within our local church and in our everyday lives. Use us as Your instruments to inspire love, support, and fellowship, so that many may come to know Your grace through our example.

We trust You to guide us in building a family and community rooted in Your truth. Help us to be faithful in encouraging our children to live as Your disciples and to foster unity that glorifies Your name.

In Jesus’ name, we pray,
Amen.