…continuing this short throw-back series with the metaphor of a rockslide on I-40 on the NC/TN border that happened in 1997. That rockslide caused a lot of detours for months, and in the pre-GPS days, you had to pay attention to the road signs.

When a rockslide closes the highway, and you have to take a detour, you learn to rely a lot on road signs…

“Merging Traffic” means look out and be alert to join in with the traffic around you. You are all heading toward a common destination – work together and you will arrive in one piece. Ignore each other, trying to  get ahead of someone else, and you will cause a wreck.

courtesy roadtrafficsigns.com

Fellowship does not happen by accident. It does not happen without the power of God working in individual believers and in the church body. As believers share with other their salvation experiences, practice Christ-like lives, and demonstrate their faith by serving others, fellowship flourishes as sure as summer follows spring.

Fellowship is more than just a feeling of goodwill in a congregation. Fellowship is a person-to-person relationship, and Christian fellowship also involves a relationship with God.

Fellowship is vital to a healthy church. Without warm, loving fellowship churches will not grow. People will not come where bickering , selfishness, coldness, and tensions prevail. People want to be where peace, love, joy and family relationships prevail.

A church whose fellowship is broken usually is a church that has lost sight of its other main functions: evangelism, discipleship, ministry and worship. Churches cannot have the kind of fellowship we want and our Lord expects unless they focus on evangelism, discipleship, ministry, and worship.

Fellowship follows naturally when a church heeds God’s call to practice the other four Kingdom functions.

Christ’s unity is a pattern for us to display and enjoy in the church. In John 17:21 we see the prayer of Jesus:

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind – just as you, Father are in me and I in you, so that they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. (The Message)

The work of Christ and the Spirit in our lives gives us love for one another and a unity of purpose and vision. This results in fellowship.

part of a series taken from presentations 16 years ago, introducing the Purpose Driven Church principles to a church leadership team

brought back today to connect to Auxano’s release of the first Team UP resource, featuring the Top 100 Quotes from Purpose Driven Church, with applications and exercises from Church Unique