Following Christ in the Fellowship of the Church

By Dave Jenkins

Following Christ is deeply personal, but it is never private. Jesus calls individual men and women to repent, believe, deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. Yet He does not call His people to walk alone. He saves us into His body, joins us to a local church, and gives us brothers and sisters who help us persevere in the faith.

In a culture that prizes independence, many professing Christians approach church as an optional addition to the Christian life. They may listen to sermons online, read good books, and appreciate Christian content, while remaining disconnected from meaningful fellowship, accountability, and service. Those resources can be helpful, but they cannot replace the church Christ purchased with His blood.

To follow Christ faithfully is to love what He loves. Christ loves His church. He is her Head, her Shepherd, and her Savior. He gave Himself for her, and He is committed to presenting her holy and blameless before Himself (Ephesians 5:25–27). If we belong to Christ, we should not treat His people as a burden, an inconvenience, or a disposable part of our lives.

Christ Saves Us Into a People

When God saves sinners, He does more than forgive them as isolated individuals. He brings them into His family. Peter describes believers as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Paul says that through Christ, believing Jews and Gentiles are made fellow citizens, members of the household of God, and are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19–22).

This is not merely theological language. It has practical implications for every Christian. We need one another because God has designed His people to grow together.

The New Testament repeatedly speaks of the church as a body. Christ is the Head, and every believer is a member of that body (1 Corinthians 12:12–27). No member can say to another, “I have no need of you.” The eye needs the hand. The head needs the feet. What appears weaker is often indispensable.

This means the Christian life is not a self-directed project. We do not mature simply by pursuing our own preferences, choosing only the teaching we enjoy, and avoiding believers who challenge us. God uses the gathered church to teach us, correct us, encourage us, expose our blind spots, and strengthen our faith.

The Church Is Where We Receive God’s Ordinary Means of Grace

God certainly works in extraordinary ways. He answers prayer, provides in unexpected circumstances, and uses many means to strengthen His people. But ordinarily, He grows Christians through the ordinary means of grace He has given to the church: the preaching of the Word, the ordinances, prayer, fellowship, and pastoral care.

The early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Notice the word devoted. These believers did not view instruction, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer as optional activities to fit in when convenient. They understood that these were essential to their life together in Christ.

The preached Word is not simply information for us to consume. Through the faithful proclamation of Scripture, God confronts us with truth, comforts us with His promises, convicts us of sin, and points us again and again to Christ. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).

The ordinances also matter. In baptism, believers publicly identify with Christ in His death and resurrection. In the Lord’s Supper, the church remembers Christ’s sacrifice, proclaims His death until He comes, and communes together as one body (1 Corinthians 11:23–26). These are not empty rituals. They are Christ’s gifts to His people.

When Christians consistently distance themselves from the local church, they are not merely missing programs or events. They are neglecting the means God has appointed for their spiritual nourishment and growth.

We Need Encouragement to Persevere

The Christian life is a race that requires endurance. We face temptation, discouragement, suffering, spiritual opposition, and seasons of weariness. None of us is as strong as we imagine ourselves to be. We need fellow believers to remind us of the promises of God when our hearts are weak.

Hebrews 3:12–13 gives a sober warning: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” Then comes the remedy: “But exhort one another every day… that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Sin deceives. It tells us that we can manage on our own, that our compromises are small, that we do not need correction, and that isolation is safer than honest fellowship. But sin grows in darkness. God often uses the loving exhortation of other believers to bring hidden sin into the light and call us back to faithful obedience.

Hebrews 10:24–25 likewise tells Christians to consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, “not neglecting to meet together,” but encouraging one another. The command is not merely to attend a gathering. It is to consider one another. It is to arrive ready to encourage, serve, pray, and help others persevere.

There will be Sundays when you are tired. There will be seasons when church life is difficult. There will be misunderstandings, disappointments, and moments when serving feels costly. But following Christ includes loving imperfect people because Christ has loved us in our sin and weakness.

Biblical Fellowship Is More Than Casual Friendship

Christian fellowship is a gift, but it is more than enjoying meals, sharing interests, or spending time with people we naturally prefer. Those things may be part of fellowship, but biblical fellowship is rooted in our shared life in Christ.

We are called to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), confess our sins to one another and pray for one another (James 5:16), encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with all (1 Thessalonians 5:14). We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).

That kind of fellowship requires more than showing up occasionally. It requires humility, availability, prayer, patience, and a willingness to let others know us. It means learning to forgive when others sin against us. It means speaking the truth in love when a brother or sister is wandering. It means receiving correction without immediately becoming defensive.

The local church is one of the primary places where God teaches us to love. It is easy to claim that we love the body of Christ in the abstract. It is much harder, and much more sanctifying, to love actual people with different personalities, backgrounds, preferences, and weaknesses.

Yet this is precisely what Christ calls us to do. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples,” Jesus said, “if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Every Christian Has a Place to Serve

The church is not a place where a few people do ministry while everyone else watches. Christ has given gifts to His people for the building up of His body. First Corinthians 12 makes clear that every member matters.

Some gifts are public and visible. Others are quiet and often unnoticed. But all faithful service matters. A church is strengthened by those who teach, pray, give, welcome, visit the hurting, care for children, encourage the discouraged, serve behind the scenes, and faithfully carry out responsibilities that few others see.

God has not placed you in a local church merely to ask what it can provide for you. He has also placed you there to serve others. This does not mean every Christian must carry the same responsibilities or serve in the same way. Seasons of life, health, work, and family responsibilities affect what we can do. But every believer should ask, “How can I use what God has given me to build up His people?”

Service protects us from a consumer mindset. It trains our hearts to look beyond ourselves. It reminds us that the Christian life is not about being noticed, praised, or comfortable. It is about loving Christ by loving His people.

Do Not Let Church Wounds Lead You Away From Christ’s People

Many Christians have experienced real hurt in the church. Leaders fail. Members sin against one another. Conflicts are mishandled. Expectations are unmet. These wounds should not be minimized, and sin within the church should be addressed honestly and biblically.

But the failures of sinful people do not change Christ’s purpose for His church. The answer to church hurt is not to abandon the body of Christ altogether. It is to pursue healing, seek reconciliation where possible, exercise wisdom, and find a faithful local church where the Word is preached, Christ is honored, and believers are cared for.

The church on earth will never be perfect. Every local church is made up of redeemed sinners who are still being sanctified. That includes us. We rightly desire faithful leadership, sound doctrine, godly accountability, and biblical care. But we must also remember that we bring our own weaknesses and sins into the fellowship of the church.

Christ is patient with His bride. We should be patient as well, without excusing sin or ignoring serious problems. Biblical love seeks truth, repentance, restoration, and the good of others.

Following Christ Together

Following Christ requires personal faith, personal obedience, and personal responsibility before God. No one can believe for us. No one can repent for us. No one can obey Christ in our place.

But we were never intended to do those things alone.

God has given the church so that we may be taught the Word, strengthened through worship, nourished at the Lord’s Table, corrected in love, encouraged in suffering, and equipped for service. He uses ordinary believers in ordinary acts of faithfulness to keep His people pressing on toward the day when Christ returns.

If you have been treating church as optional, ask the Lord to reshape your heart. Commit yourself to a faithful local church. Receive the care and instruction God provides there. Pursue meaningful fellowship. Serve others. Be present. Pray for your pastors and fellow members. Forgive readily. Encourage generously.

Following Christ means belonging to Christ. And those who belong to Christ belong to His people.

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