Longing for Community

Why am I going to church? What’s the point? It’s 2024. Doesn’t the idea of “Church” seem a little outdated to you? A little irrelevant? Why should I go to an event with sub-par music when I can go to an actual concert?

I like to question things. I think most of my generation likes to question things. We aren’t content to do things for the sake of tradition, or for the sake of habit. It feels stifling, insincere and incongruent with the message we are constantly inundated with by our culture which, for better or for worse, is to “be true to yourself.” For a lot of young people, “Church” as it is has left us feeling disillusioned, dissatisfied, and unsure of how to respond to our experience.

First, I would like to suggest that our generation’s disillusionment with “Church” is a very good thing. We like to challenge the status quo. We question why we do what we do and are not willing to accept things just because “that’s the way they’ve always been.” Nope, if we think it’s a waste of time, we’re gone.

But where does that leave us? According to an article by the Newport Institute, “emerging adults are the loneliest generation.” Loneliness apparently peaks for young people between the ages of 18 – 29, despite our generation being more connected than ever before due to social media. Loneliness and depression are on the rise among young people. I am not a health professional and am not going to pretend there aren’t a wide variety of reasons for these statistics, however, I would like to suggest regarding evangelical Christian culture that the “Church” has failed in its current structure to provide a space of true, real community to young people which may be a contributing factor to the rise of loneliness.    

Community is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” The word often used to describe Community in the New Testament is Koinonia. The word Koinonia means: 1. The Christian fellowship or body of believers. 2. Intimate spiritual communion and participative sharing in common religious commitment and spiritual community. Interesting. If I asked you if you have ever felt “intimate spiritual communion” while at “church”, would you say yes? I’m afraid for most of us the answer would be no.

“Church” as an organization has become extremely attractional. The church strives to attract people in, provide quality events, and entertain those who attend in the hopes they’ll fill seats in a physical facility for the next decade. It has become a place of pseudo-community. A shallow glimpse of real, Biblical community. Although it may placate an individual’s intense desire for connection temporarily; in the end it will leave them disappointed and disillusioned.

So, what’s the point? I’m not looking to abandon the idea of “church,” or to say it is not important. On the contrary, I think doing life with other people who are following Jesus is absolutely essential. I’m suggesting that somewhere along the way we forgot what true Biblical community is. We exchanged depth of experience to chase numbers of attendance. We replaced real, spirit-filled community with shallow, defensive, pseudo-communities which protect us from vulnerability. This exchange has left us feeling empty, disillusioned, and for some people, caused them to cease participating in organized religion altogether.

I think the “church” in North America is long overdue for a complete renovation. I believe the Spirit is ready to do something big and the structure of the current organized church tries to limit God from what He does best: Create. God is innovative, creative, and very much in-touch with humanity. The Gospel hasn’t changed, but it’s time we acknowledge that it’s 2024. The cultural environment has changed. People have changed in many ways, but there is still a desperate longing in many people’s hearts to belong to a community. To find meaning and purpose. To find authentic connection. The type of community described in the Bible is life changing but it doesn’t revolve around events, entertainment, or attendance. It’s mostly about good food, conversation, vulnerability, connection, intimacy, and love.

Too often, “church” has become a weekly event where people share a few words and watch a performance put on by other followers of Jesus. I believe the Biblical example of church is a web of interconnected relationships. A group of people who decide to practice following Jesus together. People who come together to practice confession (uncomfortable word for most of us), to make food together, to laugh together, to celebrate events together, to challenge us to truly experience and give love. A community like this is attractional by accident, not by intention. The Spirit doesn’t need us to market Him. Real community demonstrates God’s character and His intention for humanity better than anything else ever could.

I have no conclusion. This is just an attempt to express some of my thoughts. These words come from a place of love for my faith and for a longing for us to recognize what community is and what it isn’t. The Spirit is so ready to move in North America and I think many young people, including myself, are want to have a life-changing faith experience. Following Jesus cannot happen in isolation from true community.

*These words were partially inspired by a book by Shawn Brace entitled “The Table I Long For.” This book helped me immensely in understanding why I was feeling so uncomfortable with “church” as I know it and I highly recommend it.