With that in mind CommunityLife Church will do its very best to effectively model what "community should look and be like". Here are a few questions about community:
What makes you want to be part of a community? What is "it" that binds us together? Is "it" shared values, interests, obligations, habits, security, or even collective development? What does it mean to be a member of a community? To a
nswer these questions we need to understand community and what it means. For us it means "A Band Of Intimate Allies". What does it take to build community?
1. Availability - "time spent together". Not just quantitative time, but quality as well. Time for conversation, interaction, and a deepening of relationship building.
2. Vulnerability - "be open". Strong community relationships are built when people open their lives to others. This doesn't happen overnight, nor should it. It's a progressive relational deepening.
3. Shared Life - "Share" This goes back to availability, but much further. In addition to time together, sharing life is also sharing resources.(time, money, treasures, talent, etc.) The first church in Acts did this amazingly. This is where true community began. Resources were shared. If someone was in need the community came together to meet the need.
4. Stability - "Constant and Consistent". Roots take time to grow deep and are necessary for the life of community.
5. Unity - "A Band Of Intimate Allies". Each member of the community puts aside their own agendas for the sake of "all".
6. Acceptance - Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God (Romans 15:7) Commuity truly happens when "all" are welcomed.
