community

Community is at the core of the church, essential to both evangelism and discipleship. Howard Snyder writes, “At its most basic level the church is a community, not a hierarchy; an organism, not an organization (Mt. 18: 20; Rom. 12: 5– 8; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4: 1– 16; 1 Pet. 4: 10– 11)” (The Community of the King, p. 73). Later he adds, “Many churches do not share the gospel effectively because their communal experience of the gospel is too weak and tasteless to be worth sharing…. But where Christian fellowship demonstrates the gospel, believers come alive and sinners get curious and want to know what the secret is. So true Christian community (koinonia) becomes both the basis and the goal of evangelism…. The community is the only effective school for discipleship. For these reasons, building true koinonia is an indispensable link in the life cycle of church growth” (p. 147).

Donahue, Bill (2012-04-24). Leading Life-Changing Small Groups (Groups that Grow) (Kindle Locations 230-237). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.