Spiritual Habits of Effective People: Meeting Regularly

“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another . . .” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT).

We develop spiritual fitness when we meet regularly and encourage one another. When you get together with other believers regularly, this is called fellowship—sharing and caring together in a small group.

Do you ever need encouragement? Life can be tough and we all get discouraged. The fact is you’re never going to be an effective Christian if you try to go it alone. You need encouragement. You need other people. Life was not meant to be lived by itself.

I grew up in northern California in a little town called Redwood Valley. Just north of us were the giant redwoods. Redwood trees have very shallow roots. They withstand the wind by spreading out and intertwining roots and they hold each other up. What a perfect picture of fellowship! We spread out, we intertwine, and we hold each other up. We strengthen each other.

Snow flakes are frail, but if enough of them stick together they can stop traffic. You can’t do a whole lot and I can’t do a whole lot, but together in a group we can do something. We can have an impact on this world.

Let me mention that I meet people who say, “I’m going to miss church this week. It’s no big deal.” They are simply unaware how you can dry up spiritually whenever you miss fellowship with other believers. In fact, you need to be in constant contact with other Christians, even beyond what you get on Sunday. You need more than just a “Sunday fix.” Every Christian needs a balance between large group celebration/worship and small group fellowship.

You need a big group so you can say, “I’m a part of something significant.” But you can’t share prayer requests within a large group; you can’t pray for each other; you can’t even know everybody. So you need to be in a small group, also.

What’s the result of getting together with other believers? “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 NIV).

Rick Warren