ESSENCE OF FELLOWSHIP

The common conception on the minds of many after taking a look at the topic, would possibly be that the article is anchored on the scripture as written in Hebrews Chapter 10 verse 25: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another: and so much more, as ye see the day approaching. The accuracy of that allusion will be left to you to find out, by reading through the articleJ!

This article is inspired by a statement I heard some time back, upon which I began pondering on. Someone recently said/implied that it was okay to miss church for work, also further stating that carrying out the work in view, is also service to God! This really got me thinking.

 I will issue a brief CAVEAT before proceeding; this article is not meant to debate on whether it is right or wrong to skip church when work calls. The choice is left to the individual believer, as Christianity is based on conviction. It is my firm believe that having the Holy Spirit always directing us, we would know when we are taking a misstep. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I will like to proceed.

The essence of this article is to actually define the primary reason for attending church or fellowshipping with the brethren. In the digging deep manual (501 – 600) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in the treatment of the second part of the topic – The army of the Lord, the second outline was captioned “the soldiers of the cross have a three-fold assignment.” The three fold assignments of a believer were outlined thus, i.) A ministry to God. ii.) A ministry to one another and finally iii.) A ministry to the world. This article serves to disambiguate the minds of many regarding the essence of fellowship.

A quick deviation is necessary at this point. Making reference to the preceding paragraph, three key statements will be made. Our ministry to God involves our personal relationship with God. This is a personal ministry and not a collective one, implying that it is essentially centred on our 'alone time' with God. Building a relationship with God is the primary focus of this ministry (James 4:8).  Second sentence goes thus, the ministry to the world centres around our interaction with the ‘world.’ World here referring to unbelievers. This is where our work/jobs and how we go about it comes into view. We are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13 - 14). Therefore, we are meant to be examples in how we live, how we work, how we talk and in every other way. Finally, the Ministry to one another is where fellowship comes into view and this is the focus of this article.

In the first scripture earlier quoted (Hebrews 10 verse 25) we see here that we minister to one another when we fellowship. Fellowship is an avenue for believers to minister to each other; be it in prayer, in edification, moral and financial support. It was in fellowship that the earliest Christians were able to meet the needs of each other with what they had sold (Acts 2: 42 – 47). There is no denying that in fellowship we also serve God, but primarily fellowship serves the ministry of believers to one another. The scripture says in Proverbs 27 verse 17 that iron sharpeneth iron. It is in fellowship that we sharpen each other. It is also in fellowship that the sick are prayed for by the elders (James 5:14).

The above stated is why fellowship is important. What we get in fellowshipping we can’t get in our closet. The testimonies of the brethren also help strengthen our Faith whenever we are in doubt or in our low moments due to prevailing circumstances. It is therefore necessary that to state categorically that your personal devotion cannot be traded for fellowship neither can your service to the world (be it through your work or otherwise)! Stay blessed.

Image gotten from: http://www.trianglepc.org/fellowship/