Community is the Church
Hey church,
This post may say I'm the author, but I'm not - the post below was written by Cody Bartug, one of our elders. Church community is a deep burden for him, as you will see. Our hope is this writing stirs you to join us on Wednesdays as we seek to build foundations for launching a culture of fellowship here at Anthem. Enjoy! - Andrew
This post may say I'm the author, but I'm not - the post below was written by Cody Bartug, one of our elders. Church community is a deep burden for him, as you will see. Our hope is this writing stirs you to join us on Wednesdays as we seek to build foundations for launching a culture of fellowship here at Anthem. Enjoy! - Andrew
Over the next season, you’re going to hear us talking more about Community Groups at Anthem.
Before we get into what those groups will look like, when they will meet, or how you can join one, I want to start somewhere more important.
I want to talk about why.
Because the last thing any of us needs is one more thing on the calendar.
Most of us already have plenty going on.
Work.
School.
Kids.
Practices.
Commutes.
Meals.
Laundry.
Church.
Appointments.
Trying to exercise somewhere in there.
Trying to rest somewhere in there.
So if Community Groups are just another weekly church meeting, I’m not sure that’s enough.
What we’re after is something much bigger.
At Anthem, we believe: Community is the church.
That may sound strange at first.
We often talk about “community” as one thing a church offers.
There’s Sunday worship, kids ministry, serving, teaching, youth ministry, and then somewhere on that list is community.
But when we open the New Testament, community isn’t presented as one department of the church. It is woven into what the church is.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
— Ephesians 2:19, ESV
Through Jesus, we have not only been reconciled to God.
We have been brought into a household.
A family.
A people.
That changes things.
————————————
More Than Going to Church
There is a difference between going to church and belonging to the church.
We love gathering on Sundays.
We need to gather.
We worship together, hear the Word together, pray together, take Communion together, encourage one another, and remind each other of the gospel.
But Sunday morning was never intended to carry the entire weight of our relationships with one another.
You can sit three rows behind someone for years and never really know them.
You can sing the same songs, hear the same sermons, and walk through the same doors every Sunday without knowing that the person beside you is grieving.
Or struggling.
Or celebrating.
Or questioning.
Or lonely.
You can recognize someone's face without knowing their story.
The New Testament gives us a much fuller picture.
In Acts 2, we read:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
— Acts 2:42, ESV
That word translated fellowship is the Greek word koinonia.
And koinonia means far more than coffee after church.
It carries the idea of sharing, participation, and partnership.
These Christians weren't simply attending the same gathering.
Their lives were becoming connected.
They worshiped together.
They learned together.
They ate together.
They prayed together.
They shared what they had.
They entered one another's homes.
They carried needs together.
They belonged to one another.
That is the kind of community we want to grow into at Anthem.
————————————
We Already Have Glimpses of It
One of the things I love about Anthem is that this isn't completely new for us.
We already see glimpses of this kind of life.
We see it when different generations know one another instead of staying separated into age groups.
We see it when someone puts an invitation out for a hike, a movie, or a trip to the farmers market and other people join in.
We see it when someone needs help and people quietly show up.
We see it when children grow up knowing adults in the church who aren't their parents but who genuinely care about them.
We see it when people stay after church talking long after the chairs could have been put away.
We see it when someone is going through something difficult and another person says, “I'm coming with you.”
Those things matter.
They aren't distractions from the ministry of the church.
They are part of the ministry of the church.
Paul describes his relationship with the Thessalonians this way:
“We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves.”
— 1 Thessalonians 2:8, ESV
I love that.
Not only the gospel.
Our own selves.
Our hope at Anthem is to share the true God with real people for their whole life.
And this work requires more than being in the same room.
It requires sharing ourselves.
—————————
Why Community Groups?
So where do Community Groups fit into all of this?
Community Groups aren't the goal.
Community is the goal.
The groups simply give us a place where that community has room to grow.
Sunday morning gives us something smaller gatherings cannot: the whole church gathered together across ages, backgrounds, personalities, and stages of life.
Community Groups give us something that is difficult to experience in a larger gathering: enough space to actually know one another.
To hear someone's story.
To ask a second question.
To notice when someone isn't there.
To talk about how Scripture intersects with what happened at work on Tuesday.
To pray specifically rather than generally.
To celebrate good news.
To walk with someone through bad news.
To move from: “Hey, good to see you.”
to: “How are you really doing?”
And eventually, our hope is that even the Community Group meeting begins to spill over into everything else.
Because we don't want community that exists only for ninety minutes on a Wednesday night.
We want shared life.
————————————
A Different Kind of Church Culture
Imagine an Anthem where the people you worship with on Sunday are increasingly the people woven into the rest of your week.
Not everyone. None of us has the capacity to be deeply connected with everyone in the church. But someone.
People who know you.
People you know.
People who notice.
People who stay.
People who pray.
People who tell you the truth.
People who remind you of Jesus when you have trouble seeing him.
People who rejoice with you when life is good and weep with you when it isn't.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
— Romans 12:15, ESV
You can't really obey that command from a distance.
You have to know what there is to rejoice about.
You have to know that someone is weeping.
And that requires relationship.
—————————
Community Will Sometimes Be Inconvenient
There is another reason we need this.
Our culture trains us to organize our lives around convenience.
We choose what's closest.
Fastest.
Easiest.
Most efficient.
And often, without realizing it, we begin treating relationships the same way.
But biblical love has staying power.
One of the words Scripture uses repeatedly to describe God's character is the Hebrew word hesed—often translated as steadfast love.
God says of himself that he is:
“abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
— Exodus 34:6, ESV
That is the love we have received.
And over time, it is the kind of love that should begin characterizing us.
Not: “I'll be around as long as this relationship works for me.”
But: “You matter to me because we belong to Jesus together.”
That doesn't mean unhealthy relationships that have no boundaries.
It doesn't mean tolerating abuse or avoiding difficult truth.
It means we don't treat people as disposable.
We stay.
We forgive.
We work through conflict.
We carry burdens.
We keep showing up.
That's family.
————————————
We Need Each Other to Follow Jesus
Maybe the biggest reason for Community Groups is simply this:
We need each other if we want to become like Jesus.
The New Testament is filled with commands that are impossible to obey by ourselves.
Love one another.
Serve one another.
Encourage one another.
Bear with one another.
Forgive one another.
Teach one another.
Pray for one another.
Bear one another's burdens.
The Christian life was never designed as Jesus and me against the world.
God has given us his Spirit.
God has given us his Word.
And God has given us his people.
Sometimes those people encourage us.
Sometimes they comfort us.
Sometimes they frustrate us.
Sometimes they challenge us.
Sometimes they expose things in us that we would rather not see.
And God uses all of it.
Community isn't something that competes with discipleship.
Community is one of the places discipleship happens.
————————————
This Is Bigger Than Community Groups
So yes, we're starting Community Groups. But our vision is much bigger than getting everyone signed up for another meeting. We want to cultivate a church where belonging to Anthem means increasingly sharing life with the people of Anthem.
A church where generations know one another.
Where kids grow up surrounded by people who know their names.
Where single people aren't treated like an afterthought to family ministry.
Where older saints are needed rather than sidelined.
Where young people have people ahead of them to learn from.
Where somebody notices when you haven't been around.
Where asking for help isn't embarrassing.
Where hospitality doesn't require a perfect house.
Where relationships endure beyond the easy seasons.
Where people don't simply attend church together.
They follow Jesus together.
Because community isn't something we are adding to the church.
Community is the church.
Jesus is building a family.
And by God's grace, we're learning how to live like one.
--------------------------------
More about what Community Groups will actually look like is coming soon. For now, I'd encourage you to sit with one question:
If God has not only called me to himself, but called me into a people, what might that change about the way I think about church?
See you Wednesdays!
Cody
Most of us already have plenty going on.
Work.
School.
Kids.
Practices.
Commutes.
Meals.
Laundry.
Church.
Appointments.
Trying to exercise somewhere in there.
Trying to rest somewhere in there.
So if Community Groups are just another weekly church meeting, I’m not sure that’s enough.
What we’re after is something much bigger.
At Anthem, we believe: Community is the church.
That may sound strange at first.
We often talk about “community” as one thing a church offers.
There’s Sunday worship, kids ministry, serving, teaching, youth ministry, and then somewhere on that list is community.
But when we open the New Testament, community isn’t presented as one department of the church. It is woven into what the church is.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
— Ephesians 2:19, ESV
Through Jesus, we have not only been reconciled to God.
We have been brought into a household.
A family.
A people.
That changes things.
————————————
More Than Going to Church
There is a difference between going to church and belonging to the church.
We love gathering on Sundays.
We need to gather.
We worship together, hear the Word together, pray together, take Communion together, encourage one another, and remind each other of the gospel.
But Sunday morning was never intended to carry the entire weight of our relationships with one another.
You can sit three rows behind someone for years and never really know them.
You can sing the same songs, hear the same sermons, and walk through the same doors every Sunday without knowing that the person beside you is grieving.
Or struggling.
Or celebrating.
Or questioning.
Or lonely.
You can recognize someone's face without knowing their story.
The New Testament gives us a much fuller picture.
In Acts 2, we read:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
— Acts 2:42, ESV
That word translated fellowship is the Greek word koinonia.
And koinonia means far more than coffee after church.
It carries the idea of sharing, participation, and partnership.
These Christians weren't simply attending the same gathering.
Their lives were becoming connected.
They worshiped together.
They learned together.
They ate together.
They prayed together.
They shared what they had.
They entered one another's homes.
They carried needs together.
They belonged to one another.
That is the kind of community we want to grow into at Anthem.
————————————
We Already Have Glimpses of It
One of the things I love about Anthem is that this isn't completely new for us.
We already see glimpses of this kind of life.
We see it when different generations know one another instead of staying separated into age groups.
We see it when someone puts an invitation out for a hike, a movie, or a trip to the farmers market and other people join in.
We see it when someone needs help and people quietly show up.
We see it when children grow up knowing adults in the church who aren't their parents but who genuinely care about them.
We see it when people stay after church talking long after the chairs could have been put away.
We see it when someone is going through something difficult and another person says, “I'm coming with you.”
Those things matter.
They aren't distractions from the ministry of the church.
They are part of the ministry of the church.
Paul describes his relationship with the Thessalonians this way:
“We were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves.”
— 1 Thessalonians 2:8, ESV
I love that.
Not only the gospel.
Our own selves.
Our hope at Anthem is to share the true God with real people for their whole life.
And this work requires more than being in the same room.
It requires sharing ourselves.
—————————
Why Community Groups?
So where do Community Groups fit into all of this?
Community Groups aren't the goal.
Community is the goal.
The groups simply give us a place where that community has room to grow.
Sunday morning gives us something smaller gatherings cannot: the whole church gathered together across ages, backgrounds, personalities, and stages of life.
Community Groups give us something that is difficult to experience in a larger gathering: enough space to actually know one another.
To hear someone's story.
To ask a second question.
To notice when someone isn't there.
To talk about how Scripture intersects with what happened at work on Tuesday.
To pray specifically rather than generally.
To celebrate good news.
To walk with someone through bad news.
To move from: “Hey, good to see you.”
to: “How are you really doing?”
And eventually, our hope is that even the Community Group meeting begins to spill over into everything else.
Because we don't want community that exists only for ninety minutes on a Wednesday night.
We want shared life.
————————————
A Different Kind of Church Culture
Imagine an Anthem where the people you worship with on Sunday are increasingly the people woven into the rest of your week.
Not everyone. None of us has the capacity to be deeply connected with everyone in the church. But someone.
People who know you.
People you know.
People who notice.
People who stay.
People who pray.
People who tell you the truth.
People who remind you of Jesus when you have trouble seeing him.
People who rejoice with you when life is good and weep with you when it isn't.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
— Romans 12:15, ESV
You can't really obey that command from a distance.
You have to know what there is to rejoice about.
You have to know that someone is weeping.
And that requires relationship.
—————————
Community Will Sometimes Be Inconvenient
There is another reason we need this.
Our culture trains us to organize our lives around convenience.
We choose what's closest.
Fastest.
Easiest.
Most efficient.
And often, without realizing it, we begin treating relationships the same way.
But biblical love has staying power.
One of the words Scripture uses repeatedly to describe God's character is the Hebrew word hesed—often translated as steadfast love.
God says of himself that he is:
“abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
— Exodus 34:6, ESV
That is the love we have received.
And over time, it is the kind of love that should begin characterizing us.
Not: “I'll be around as long as this relationship works for me.”
But: “You matter to me because we belong to Jesus together.”
That doesn't mean unhealthy relationships that have no boundaries.
It doesn't mean tolerating abuse or avoiding difficult truth.
It means we don't treat people as disposable.
We stay.
We forgive.
We work through conflict.
We carry burdens.
We keep showing up.
That's family.
————————————
We Need Each Other to Follow Jesus
Maybe the biggest reason for Community Groups is simply this:
We need each other if we want to become like Jesus.
The New Testament is filled with commands that are impossible to obey by ourselves.
Love one another.
Serve one another.
Encourage one another.
Bear with one another.
Forgive one another.
Teach one another.
Pray for one another.
Bear one another's burdens.
The Christian life was never designed as Jesus and me against the world.
God has given us his Spirit.
God has given us his Word.
And God has given us his people.
Sometimes those people encourage us.
Sometimes they comfort us.
Sometimes they frustrate us.
Sometimes they challenge us.
Sometimes they expose things in us that we would rather not see.
And God uses all of it.
Community isn't something that competes with discipleship.
Community is one of the places discipleship happens.
————————————
This Is Bigger Than Community Groups
So yes, we're starting Community Groups. But our vision is much bigger than getting everyone signed up for another meeting. We want to cultivate a church where belonging to Anthem means increasingly sharing life with the people of Anthem.
A church where generations know one another.
Where kids grow up surrounded by people who know their names.
Where single people aren't treated like an afterthought to family ministry.
Where older saints are needed rather than sidelined.
Where young people have people ahead of them to learn from.
Where somebody notices when you haven't been around.
Where asking for help isn't embarrassing.
Where hospitality doesn't require a perfect house.
Where relationships endure beyond the easy seasons.
Where people don't simply attend church together.
They follow Jesus together.
Because community isn't something we are adding to the church.
Community is the church.
Jesus is building a family.
And by God's grace, we're learning how to live like one.
--------------------------------
More about what Community Groups will actually look like is coming soon. For now, I'd encourage you to sit with one question:
If God has not only called me to himself, but called me into a people, what might that change about the way I think about church?
See you Wednesdays!
Cody
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