Get Connected with God's Family

By: Joel Comiskey

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Many people believe they don’t need the local church. They are like my friend, Jim, who prayed the “sinner’s prayer.” I had been witnessing to Jim for a long time, and he now was a Christian—or so I thought. Over the months, I noticed that Jim did not like to attend church, telling me that he was very private and didn’t like to share his life with others.

After many months, I felt the need to challenge his individualistic thinking. I said to him, “Those who know Jesus are willing to have others hold them accountable. They don’t hold on to a privatized religion and their faith.” My words hit a wall. Jim didn’t mind hearing about Jesus and was willing to “accept Christ.” But becoming a responsible member of the body of Christ was far from his mind.

Jim, like so many others, had bought into a privatized view of Christianity—me and God.

The resistance to regularly meeting with other believers is not a new problem. The same tendency was happening back in the New Testament church as well. To confront this dilemma, the writer of Hebrews said, “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” (Hebrews 10:25). The human propensity is to resist accountability and to only answer to ourselves. But the New Testament tells us often that we need each other (you’ll find more than fifty “one-another” references).

God has rescued me from false doctrine and spiritual error on multiple occasions. God used local church pastors to guide me into biblical truth during those moments. I’ve also realized my need for participation in a small group where I can share my own struggles and hear others share theirs. An important part of confidence and victory is connecting with a local church and growing with the family of God over time.