In Hong Kong, club memberships are much sought after. A membership gets you access to sports facilities, children’s playgrounds, swimming pools, and good restaurants. We can enjoy the service, exclusivity, connections, and benefits without too many inconveniences. We can pick and choose what we want from a club. A club doesn’t demand too much from us. Involvement in the club’s community life is optional.
The New Testament gives a very different picture of membership in a Christian community. The Apostle Paul says to the Romans, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12: 4-6).
At its best, Christian community is a wonderful blend of diversity and mutual dependence. We all have different stories, different backgrounds, and different gifts. In community, God brings us together in a context where our individual gifts are used for mutual spiritual health so that we are all built up in Christ. This means involvement in community life is not an optional extra. It’s essential for our mutual growth in Christ.
We get regular encouragement by hearing what God is doing in people’s lives
One of the great joys of my ministry this last year at St Andrew’s has been seeing first-hand people getting involved and growing in our community life.
I love meeting newcomers who visit our services, then join our Partnership course, and get connected to a Growth Group. New relationships are built as people initiate conversations and extend hospitality. We get regular encouragement by hearing what God is doing in people’s lives, through testimonies at our Sunday services or at our men’s and women’s events. People step up to serve in ministries at St Andrew’s or through our mission partners around the city, pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and sharing the love of Jesus with those around them. These acts of grace are all in response to Jesus’ grace towards us…
My prayer as you read the following report is that you’ll be encouraged in hearing what God has been doing in our community, using his people to build his church and proclaim the life-transforming message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is an extract from the 24/25 Annual Report. Click here to read the full report.
