The Lodestar

Vimal (not his real name) accepted Jesus as his savior after watching a sermon on YouTube that his friend shared with him. At the end of the video, the preacher advised viewers to join a local church to advance in their faith, but Vimal never bothered to do so though there are many churches nearby. The friend who shared the video was so glad to hear that Vimal is now a Christ-follower and welcomed to his church, which was nearby.

The trend toward the privatization of faith is growing among Christians, disregarding being part of a worshipping community and limiting faith to a personal and private relationship with God.

The dominant belief until the Protestant Reformation was that “there is no salvation outside the Church.” Despite its flaws, the doctrine emphasized the importance of belonging to a community. With all its strengths, the Protestant belief in “justification by faith alone through Christ alone” resulted in an emphasis on the individual over the community.

Though Christian faith is personal, it is not private, but it is relational and communal. It all begins with a personal encounter with God in Christ, but is nurtured, practiced, and sustained in the community of the faithful people of God.

This relational aspect of Christian faith includes vertical and horizontal dimensions, both of which we must practice and experience simultaneously. God instituted a covenantal community so that the people whom He has redeemed might continue in fellowship with one another and carry out the mission of God together.

The church is the community where believers can exercise their spiritual gifts for the growth and edification of all saints in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:1–11). The worshipping community creates an atmosphere of faithful reverence for God (2 Chron. 7:3). It also helps us to reflect divine experience of divine grace and forgiveness interpersonally (Matt. 18:21–35). Being part of a worshipping community also allows for witnessing Christ’s love (John 13:34–35). All the spiritual gifts are for the enrichment of believers’ faith in Christ.

Jesus uses the word ekklesia (assembly, congregation) to refer to the community of His followers (Matt. 16:18). The church is not an aggregation of individual believers, rather, it is mutual participation, celebration, and sharing in God's redemption. It is a communal experience of sharing in the life of the Spirit (Eph. 2:21–22). So, the Christian life is not an island experience—self-contained, self-sustaining, or self-exclusive. Community-based faith strengthens mutuality among believers, preventing self-centeredness and self-sufficiency. The early church practiced sharing their wealth as an act of demonstrating God’s generosity and love towards each other (Acts 2:42–47; 4:32). As a community, they expressed their concern for the suffering Christians by praying and contributing from their wealth (Acts 11:28–30; 12:5).

The community’s life also helps in making the right moral decisions, considering the community’s values. So Christian faith is personal, but never private. For this reason, being part of a worshipping community is significant. The letter of Hebrews warns us not to neglect the importance of gatherings (Heb. 10:24–25). While privatization stunts growth, community assists a Christian in becoming complete. As we are all on the journey of faith, we need the support of one another, for encouragement and accountability.