Gamma - Christian Community Life

"Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matthew 16:15-18)

For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13)

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer ... All the believers were together and had everything in common ... Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God ... All the believers were one in heart and mind ... (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32)


Becoming a Christian means now not only being in new relationship with God, but also with other people and our environment. In fact, "I AM ... in relationship". In this step we focus on what it means to be a part of Christ's community, and how we should live our lives together.

As mentioned in Beta previously, a key to being able to live one's life genuinely in community with others is growing to have a true understanding of who you are in Christ, and also beginning to perceive others in the same light. As someone has also once said, the key to being comfortable in community with others is first being comfortable with yourself, and to grow in being yourself it is good to be around others who make it easy to be yourself.

But beyond knowing your own identity, to be an effective part of a group you need to know and be committed to the vision, mission, and values of the group. As the Scriptures say, "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" (Amos 3:3).

All these aspects will be expanded upon in this step.