Vol. 5 Issue 1 :: January 7, 2011

Builders Kickoff Lunch

On Sunday, January 22 plan on coming to your J-Term class, second service, and then sticking around for a quick lunch with the Builders. All the food and drinks will be provided. Just show up to catch up with friends you haven't seen in awhile (fellowship), meet some new friends (welcoming), and learn more about what is planned for the next few months. Kids are welcome (we'll keep it short and there will be food!)

This lunch is also a great time for you to invite someone you know that isn't involved with an ABF class to come check out the Builders.

What: Builders Kickoff Lunch
When: Sunday, January 22 after 2nd Service
Where: The Builders classroom (upstairs, follow the smell of food)

RSVP by January 18 by clicking here.

Builders in 2012 - Part 2 - We Fellowship

Fellowship is a pretty common word to hear around our church. It must be pretty important if it is the name of our group, Builders Adult Bible Fellowship. But what does it mean?

Honestly, when Jessica and I first came to Kossuth I thought that fellowship was the Christian term for hanging out. There were "fellowship" events and they were a lot like hanging out with my friends in college. We would play games, eat dinner, or go to an event together.

But as I've been around Kossuth over the years, as I've read the scriptures, learned from our teachers, and most importantly as God has opened my eyes, I now see that biblical fellowship is meant to be so much more. That doesn't mean any of those activities are bad, just don't fool yourself into checking the "fellowship" box because you attend an event.

Our word fellowship comes from the Greek word koinonia. (side note: one of the ABF classes is named Koinonia, we should probably ask those guys about this fellowship stuff!). Koinonia is used in the Scriptures to show people sharing together, living in community together, and participating in a activities together.

But those kinds of things can happen in lots of different organizations, not just the church. Let's look at how it is described in the book of Acts.

[42] And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [43] And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. [44] And all who believed were together and had all things in common. [45] And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [46] And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, [47] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

(Acts 2:42-47 ESV)
There is a lot in this short passage! I don't have time to go into every point, but look at what the passage describes as the results of their fellowship. The believers had glad and generous hearts and they praised God which resulted in God blessing them and adding to their number, which I have to believe would have resulted in more worship to God. Fellowship is a vicious cycle!

The key with biblical fellowship then is that it is enabled by the Holy Spirit and what we share together is Jesus Christ. That is what makes fellowship exclusive to Christians. So the key to fellowship is to start with God. The relationships with other believers will naturally follow.

The book "Why Small Groups" has a great section on fellowship. I'd encourage you all to read it (buy a copy or ask around, there are quite a few copies floating around the church).

Shameless plug for small groups: Another reason you might feel that you don't have deep enough biblical fellowship is that you aren't in a small group. Our ABFs (despite the name) with how they are currently structured are not the best format for fellowship. Small groups are though! (This is strictly Mikel's opinion only. Others may disagree. I'm just a big cheerleader for small groups.)