The Single Common Denominator

Paul tells us under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Philippians 3:16, "...to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind." In other words whatever has been causing you to grow spiritually - Paul is saying stay on that program.

Growing spiritually is a many faceted stone and certainly begins with daily Bible reading and prayer times. But spiritual growth isn't just a two-faceted stone - there are other important aspects to growing in the Lord.

In a recent church board meeting, as an exercise, we brainstormed whom at our church was growing spiritually and what were the observable reasons why. Those who were growing spiritually had many things in common, but as we pared the list down we discovered that there was one single common denominator: involvement in some type of small group at the church. In Acts 2:42-47 where we find our model for a New Testament church, the aspect of small group fellowship is referred to no less than five times.

The empirical evidence shows that for Christians to be spiritually healthy, they must be on a program that involves small group fellowship and interaction with other believers. This fact is not only consistent with Scripture, but can be observed in the lives of believers today.

This rather answers the age old "can someone be a Christian, yet never attend a church" question. Merely attending church appears to be the bare minimum for a believer - and if someone is a Christian and never attends, they won't be one for long.