Come to JY and be part of a jolly good family! (BJRE007)

 

Come to JY and be part of a jolly good family!

(By Dr. Edward Edezhath - Published in Kairos Magazine in 2018)

“Something is seriously missing in our group. Our group has grown in prayer. A lot of people come here. We have very good input sessions. But the old vibrancy is lacking. Somehow, we are slowly becoming lifeless.” 

I was interacting with this active city group with plenty of committed members. Over the years, much change has come, and I could see their frustration. 

I was reminded of a repeated message we received in our group years ago. 

‘Do everything possible to build yourself into a loving community.’ 

Reflecting on this, we started many new initiatives in our prayer group. The first one was a very interesting Christmas celebration with much joyful interaction, games, and eating together. A ‘welcome ministry’ was soon set up. Occasionally, we organized outings. Personal info of every regular member was collected, and we began greeting everyone on birthdays. With so many little steps of getting to know each other and expressing our love and care, a big change came over in our group.

A good Jesus Youth group is surely a sharing and caring community. When a group starts, the first few meetings are like a boy and girl falling in love, something quite exciting. But slowly, other things come up, and the love and enthusiasm fade away. No amount of prayer, fasting, or loud teaching would automatically do the trick. Building a community involves little acts of caring, mutual acceptance, and forgiveness. It’s everyone’s job to do his or her bit to keep the body of Christ alive. 

Encounter to Community

A walk with Jesus Youth begins with an encounter, an experience that brings a person closer to God. With this, a person begins a new life of joy and love. But changes come, forgetfulness sets in, and this new life gradually fades away. So, if you want this encounter to deepen and bear fruit, some dynamics of endurance have to be there. And, what is the most important help to continue what you have started anew? In one word, you must ‘belong’. In other words, if a person becomes part of an active community that tries to live Jesus Youth spirituality, there is every possibility that he or she would continue. So, being part of a joyful community is the most important next step after a person comes to Jesus Youth life.

I was introduced to a new experience and spirituality in a seminar. At the end of that, we were shown a film of a loving community and were told that if we did not belong to such a group, what we had started would gradually die out. Those interested in deepening this experience were invited to come together, and I readily signed up. That was the beginning of our Wednesday Prayer Group. Every one of us had one focus: a closer walk with Jesus. This, in turn, made us a very intimate community. Week after week, we came together to praise God, meet with our wonderful friends, share our experiences, and receive and give encouragement, and thus, we slowly grew into a lively community.

Later, I came to meet many, many active Christians. Most of them belonged to some lively group, which made them disciplined and led them to be fruitful missionaries. One beautiful work of the Holy Spirit is that when a person has a renewal experience, a deep desire to be a part of a Christian community is also planted in that person's heart. But then, those who guide new Christians are responsible for encouraging and guiding this desire to deeper belongingness.

At every stage of the development of the Jesus Youth movement, this emphasis on being part of loving communities was there. Thus, in 1982, about 20 of us from different parts of our state decided to gather every month and grow together as an active fellowship. We used to call that little community ‘the First Line Group’. We were men and women of different age groups and career backgrounds, but a zeal for the Lord united us. And we used to look forward eagerly to this monthly third weekend gathering at Ernakulam. And what was happening there? A joyful celebration of the new life in songs and praise, loving interactions, and reflections on how we must move on made these weekends a deep, formative experience. And these First Liners went back to their respective areas to form committed persons and loving communities. This gradually became the unique style of this fast-growing network. Over the years, a movement was born.

Building Christian Community

It is a surprising reality that we often miss Jesus' simple yet wonderful message. Our God is a loving community, and Jesus came on earth to teach us to love and help us live as a loving community. The one commandment that He gave us is to love. And he asked us to love as he loved. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles in a new way, and the first tangible fruit of this was their new experience, which led them to praise God. Soon, they came together as one community of much joy, great love, and generous sharing. The Acts of the Apostles says, 

“All who believed were together and had all things in common” (2:44).

Look around! Everyone yearns for good company and heartwarming friendship. We all know that a lack of love hurts a person, and genuine love heals and builds up. Further, a person comes to the Lord through a loving invitation, and a person grows in the Lord's life through the loving companionship and encouragement of a good Christian. 

Every group has its own ways of behaving and doing things. We call it the culture of that group. When a person becomes a part of a group, he or she is immersed in its culture. Sometimes, we take note of the different aspects of that culture, but very often, we may not notice it. Like fish breathing and living in water, we get to dip ourselves into a culture. The best way to form a person and build a person in faith is to bring a person to a group that has a rich faith culture.

We often say, ‘Jesus Youth is a lifestyle’. Growing in the movement is about growing in a joyful and fruitful lifestyle. How does one build this? They say values are not taught but caught. In the same way, a lifestyle is learned in a community. Jesus did it, and we also have to learn to do it.

= Pointers for Reflection =
1. How important is community building today?
2. What are the elements that will promote a sense of belongingness?
3. How do people feel alienated from a community?
4. List a few practical suggestions to build a growing community.

Topics

        Community building

        Prayer Group

        Follow up

        Growing in Christ


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