Testimony: Building Community

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the Trinity in perfect community, in relationship with one another.

Adam was made in the image of God, but it was not good for him to be alone. He was made for relationships, friendships, and community.

Building a loving and inclusive community lies at the heart of God and the gospel. After all, Jesus came down to restore our broken relationships. No one worked harder at restoring community than God Himself.

This passion inspires us to reach out, invite, and build local communities wherever we live.

Many of us in Sturry have recently entered a new season of dropping our children off at school. My own son has just started reception.

I am excited about this new season (although a little saddened to see him go and spend 32 hours away from me). I am excited for many reasons, but the main one is the opportunity to build a community with people we briefly see twice a day, five days a week. What an opportunity to reach out and make new friends, to be intentional about building a community.

For those of us within the family of God, we often take the presence of a loving community and a wide support network for granted.

But there are people out there in our local areas who don't have that and are desperate for it.

In Sturry, we are working hard to be intentional about building friendships and a loving, inclusive community with those we meet at the 'School Gate.' Not to see people as projects, but as genuine friends to do life with, to include and welcome. In time, we can share the love of Christ and His amazing gospel.

Just before the start of the new term, we reached out and invited as many children and their families to a 'Starting School Picnic' as we could. We held the picnic at Sturry Park and gave out over 40 party bags!

It was wonderful. All the parents contributed in some way, buying food, making cupcakes, and lending equipment to help make the picnic a success. There was a genuine sense of community, and what came across was that people are grateful for friendship.

This was followed by a smaller gathering of mums at a home in Sturry after the first school run. A chance where we could share our joys and worries about our little ones starting school.

It was lovely!

We already have a few more dates in the diary where we are gathering moms for breakfasts and playdates.

We are excited and hopeful about the future and feel privileged that we get to build a local community in this way in this new and exciting season. To demonstrate the love of Jesus through His local church by building a community.

So what ways can you reach out and build community in the season you are in?