Beyond Sunday with Pastor Nic
Join me for a more personal look into the weekend sermons, as well as some thoughts on theology, marriage, parenting, and leadership. I will also explore some of your most asked questions throughout the year.
www.nic-williams.com
Beyond Sunday with Pastor Nic
The Power of Community: Why Church Matters Beyond Sunday
Our discussion goes beyond Sunday services, diving into shared experiences that define our community. We revisit a recent tropical storm that brought unexpected flooding, showing how our church united to support those affected. Through tales of mutual aid, spiritual growth, and collective wisdom, we demonstrate the impact of living out our faith daily. Reflecting on events like our women's gathering and men's worship night, we explore how these moments spark new connections and fortify our communal bonds. Embrace the call to embody the church's values in every aspect of your life, finding joy and purpose in our shared mission of love and service.
Welcome to Beyond Sunday, where we delve deeper into what it means to live out our faith every day of the week. I'm coming off an incredible weekend. We had 24 baptisms yesterday and celebrated big. We had Pastor Kenny Roberts, one of our former staff members, back and preach and so I wasn't on stage, which gives me a little pause for the podcast this week, and as I was sitting around this morning thinking about man. Since I'm not going to cover what I preached on yesterday, what can we talk about today, I actually want to take a few moments and explore a crucial aspect of our spiritual lives the power of community, or another way to say it is why church matters beyond Sunday. This isn't just about attending services, it's about being actively involved in a living, breathing community, and I think we miss that sometimes in our schedules, in our time. When we think about church we don't realize it's more than just the service on the weekend.
Speaker 1:For a moment, picture a young man new to the city, walking into a church for the first time, expecting nothing more than a quiet place to sit. He instead is greeted warmly, invited to a lunch, later finds himself volunteering at a local food drive organized by the church. This experience opens his eyes to a vibrant community that serves and supports each other far beyond Sunday mornings. Now, this may be a made-up story, but this is a story that exists within churches all around the world and exists within our church. I think our young adults probably do this the best. We see a new young adult coming to the church, we immediately connect them with another young adult and all of a sudden they're best friends.
Speaker 1:Let me ask you this have you ever found unexpected community and support in a place where you initially felt like an outsider? How did this experience change your view of what it means to truly belong? This is a big deal to me and I don't know that I've ever really addressed at church why this is a big deal to me, but I'm an introverted person. Not everybody believes that because I stand on a stage and talk to a thousand people every weekend and in between services, shake hands and talk to people, just assume I'm outgoing and an extrovert. While this is the job and the role that God has called me to, it is not my personality. My personality is to never leave my house again, to just enjoy alone time for the rest of my life, and I have to put myself out there to really be in community. And for me, as I grew up in church, as I went to youth groups, as I visited churches in college, walking into a church was an overwhelming experience for me and I remember walking into churches where nobody said a word to me and it wasn't because they were being mean or they were being rude, although you feel that it's because they are engaged with their own community. They're not looking for new community. You're looking for new community, they're not looking for new community. And when I think about church, I'm passionate about making sure that people are connecting. In fact, I sat with my staff this morning I think we have 14 people on staff right now. We sat around a table and we talked about this idea of community and, honestly, this idea of community is what has taken our church from 140 people to over a thousand people at this point. But I have a concern that when we've gotten this big, how do you continue to have that community feel? How do you continue to see a new person and make sure they feel welcomed If you attend our church?
Speaker 1:We often say at the end of service we say this every weekend here at South Shore, we don't just go to church. We are the church. Now I could almost hear some of you saying that in your car as you're driving. This statement is a powerful reminder of our call to live out our faith in every interaction, in every moment of our lives. Think about this. Community is a source of support. The church is more than just a place. It's a community that uplifts its members during the toughest times.
Speaker 1:Think about this hurricane that just came through our community in the last few weeks. It honestly wasn't that bad of a storm. It was a tropical storm. It was off the coast. It was a storm that was going to be a big one. It wasn't hitting directly into Sarasota, which is where we live. It was hitting up north of us, and so we didn't really expect much out of it.
Speaker 1:And all of a sudden, within 24 hours, we got massive amounts of rain that our community could not handle. Houses and communities were flooded beyond what we've experienced in some of the worst hurricanes that have hit our area and our church had to rally around and walk into communities and neighborhoods that were just demolished with floodwaters. My brother-in-law is one of those, and so we walked in his community. All 84 homes in his community were flooded out. Only four homes had flood insurance, and so the rest of them are on their own. Fema will help a little bit, sba will help a little bit, but for the most part they're on their own. And we found our church and multiple other churches and different organizations in our community rallying in, going in, ripping out drywall. They have fans trying to dry out the areas, getting cabinets out, just really demoing house after house. And what happens is many times, once that's demoed, everybody walks away, except the person that lives there, and now they're left to rebuild. Well, what if that person had community? What if the church was the one that rallied around them and stepped in and said, hey, whatever you need. Now, sometimes we can't help because we don't know the need. Other times, if someone calls and said, hey, this is the need, we should rally around that.
Speaker 1:Community is also a place of growth. Spiritual growth often happens in community through shared experiences and collective wisdom. It doesn't just happen with you sitting and reading your Bible although that is a place that it happens, but it often happens in community. Think about a time when a discussion or a Bible study at church challenged you or deepened your understanding of Scripture. This happens in community constantly. Proverbs 27, 17 says iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. The past two weekends have been pretty pivotal at our church and busy. Two weekends ago we had a women's event. This past weekend we had a men's worship night and community was built. Hundreds of people came between the two events and a community was born that didn't already exist. Proverbs 27, 17, the iron sharpens iron verse. This proverb highlights the value of mutual edification within the community.
Speaker 1:Third thing to think about is that community is also a mission field. Every interaction within the church is an opportunity to practice the gospel. Let me say that again Every interaction you have within the church, within your safe zone, within your friends, within people walking in the door, is an opportunity to practice the gospel. I've seen people turn their passions maybe their passion for woodworking or creating furniture. I've seen them turn that into a mission field as they help a needy family and all of a sudden the gospel is being presented. It's why I love Care Portal so much. It's one of the ministries that we support here at South Shore. It is a ministry that allows us to walk in and meet practical needs in a family.
Speaker 1:Fourth thing to consider is the transformative power of community. True community actually changes us, helping us to grow in grace and become more Christ-like in our daily lives. If you're going to sit in a room by yourself for the rest of your life which, again to an introverted person sounds amazing you're never going to grow. Growth happens in community. So think about this for a moment. How has your involvement in your church community whether you're here at South Shore or somewhere else around the world how has your involvement in your church community transformed your approach to personal challenges or crises? Brian Solis once said that community is much more than belonging to something. It's about doing something together that makes belonging matter. That's an incredible quote. It makes belonging matter when you're a part of the community. This insight encourages us to actively engage in communal activities that reinforce our sense of belonging and our sense of purpose.
Speaker 1:Fifth thing to consider is living as the church. It's what we talk about right. Embracing our identity as the church means taking action. It's about living out the values we cherish and supporting one another in tangible, impactful ways. Consider how the early church and Acts shared everything they had, ensuring no one was in need. How can you and I model this level of communal sharing and support.
Speaker 1:Acts 4, verses 32 to 35, describes how the early Christians shared their possessions and lived in unity. It's an example that sets a high standard for community life, showing us the potential impact of truly living as the church. Now, as we close today, let's remember that being part of a church means more than just showing up. It means weaving our lives together in a tapestry of support, challenge and mission. Remember our call at South Shore here at South Shore, we don't just go to church, we are the church. I want to encourage you to carry this vision into every aspect of your life, embodying the love and service that Christ calls us to exhibit. Thank you for tuning in today. Until next time, may you find joy and purpose in the community of the faithful, living out the gospel in ways that bring light and life to all.