The New Testament repeatedly uses the term koinonia, or fellowship, to describe how Christians are to live together—and this choice of terms is far from accidental! The very survival of the early church depended upon people feeling as if they were part of a group larger than themselves. Keep in mind that the first century was an age when you could be severely persecuted, and even killed, simply for professing your faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, there was always the possibility of folks defecting from the church and returning to those practices and beliefs that were more acceptable to the Roman Empire.

Indeed, almost eighty percent of the New Testament appears to have been written with at least one eye on the constant temptation that people certainly felt to abandon the faith. When congregations prayed the model prayer of Jesus with its words “Bring us not into the time of testing,” they knew full well that the real test was not the temptations of greed or power, but the most awful test of all, to forsake the faith once chosen.

This is one of the reasons that the Apostle Paul insisted upon establishing fellowship groups within the churches. It was not enough merely to see people converted and living individually for Christ. Paul recognized that without the active encouragement and support of others, a person’s faith would die as quickly as an ember lying apart from the fire.

The same is surely true today. We live in an age when there are more people crowded in smaller spaces than ever before. And yet, there is also this enormous sense of isolation and loneliness. We may have a long list of acquaintances and folks with whom we exchange Christmas letters each year, but most of us could count on one hand the number of those whom we consider true friends. Despite all of our technological advances in communication, we still have a precious few with whom we can really talk and open up our hearts.

The bottom line is that all of us yearn to belong to a group where we can truly know one another, where we can share our deepest sorrows and greatest joys and not fear being rejected or ridiculed. And I think the church continues to be in the best position to meet that need. Despite all its faults, the church is still the number-one place for fellowship and love in this world.