Fellowship Memphis

Real church is best viewed in committed community where life happens and you rub shoulders as you deal with it.

Initially the general geography of our home addresses were the one thing that we had in common. Even though when we began meeting together as a community group in 2008 our paths had never crossed, three years later eight of us continue to share life together weekly (5 men led by Rob Thomas and 3 women led by Lisa Thomas). We praise the Lord for the change and spiritual growth occurring.

Gathering for Sunday worship, hearing the Word, observing communion, and praising God through song on Sunday mornings is definitely a highlight of our week. However, we have discovered over these three years another piece to “body life” that has deepened our walk beyond merely the benefits of the Sunday gathering: growing in Biblical community with a small group of believers.

The life changes - moves, new babies, painful divorces, job changes - have played a role in ripping off our masks to make us more vulnerable and willing to live in authentic community. It’s in this place that change truly happens as you express your fears and idols, allowing others to speak truth into your life. Not only through admitting your own sin, but also when you begin to recognize the sins of others, you have the opportunity to understand God’s grace in a new way by offering it to someone else.

Through the commitment that a three-year-group brings, we have had a great opportunity to dig deeper in relationships, study the Bible together and apply truth to life. We have learned to take the community that we have built and extend it to others. It has been encouraging to watch God answer prayers in each group member’s life and remind each other of how God is specifically working. We have become the hands and feet of Christ to each other and to our individual circles of influence: learning how to serve and be served.

Praise God for his gift to us for a desire for deep relationships. That craving has driven us to discover the refining power of experiencing Biblical community with a group of believers at Fellowship Memphis.