A church home should be a place where you can connect with fellow believers so that while you are strengthening your vertical relationship you are growing a horizontal one that is your support structure. Sometimes it is hard to do even if you find a church where you like the teaching, because like many small towns, everyone already knows each other, cliques have formed, and families all know each other and trying to break through those barriers is like putting on shoes that are two sizes too small…you know they will never fit, but you keep trying.

That’s not to say that you cannot find friends that you can fellowship with, but they can be rare and in very small quantities. For an introvert like me that’s not always a bad thing, but there are no things like girls night out, or random Bible studies or even just being invited to gatherings and parties at church.

Paul had fellowship with many people. He ministered with Luke, Barnabas, and Timothy just to name a few. So, Paul was blessed with fellowship beyond compare and yet he was in essence a “newbie”. However, he didn’t have to try to make a way with these men, they just has a companionship that also helped them in ministry. That kind of thing is hard to find now a days in churches, especially ones where the church is still quite young and many families have been there from the beginning.

Fellowship of the saints should be like putting on a pair of slippers and getting comfortable for the night, not cramming your foot into tight sneakers that are a size too small and you can’t lace them up.