What is Community?

Mark 12:28-31 ESV ”And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that He answered them well, asked Him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

There are two things God wants us to do: 1. To love Him and 2. To love others. Christians learn how to do these things when they choose to live in close relationship with other believers. This called living in Community together. This is what we would like to build at Altoona Campus, a close community of believers and seekers caring for one another. It is interesting that the New Testament in the Bible describes the traits that mark a Christian community in terms of “one another” statements.

Christians living in Community together are
call to:
Live in Harmony with One Another (Not Judging)
Welcome One Another
Instruct One Another
Greet One Another - Warmly
Wait for One Another
Care for One Another
Have Humility Toward One Another
Comfort One Another

Agree With One Another
Serve One Another
Bear One Another's Burdens
Bear With One Another
Forgive One Another
Be Kind to One Another
Teach and Admonish One Another
Have Fellowship With One Another
Address One Another with Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs
Submit to One Another
Encourage One Another
Do Good To One Another
Exhort One Another
Confess To One Another
Pray For One Another
Show Hospitality To One Another

Above all of the other traits of a Christian community we are called to “Love One Another” This command is repeated 14 times in the New Testament. It is the one that ties all of the others together.

John 13:34.35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Building a Christian Community on campus is a lofty goal. However, it is a goal worth pursuing while seeking for the help and power of God and His Holy Spirit.