Click on the image above for the video of this article or keep reading below for the print version.

As the pandemic wears on, there’s a part of us that will begin to call ‘normal’ things that used to feel strange. ‘Doing church’ in pajamas on the sofa may start to feel like the ultimate in Sunday morning spirituality. People who have replaced evening ministry with Netflix may find it hard to go back. Even the isolation that we all struggle with may begin to feel attractive. Meeting people can be awkward, and relationships are often messy, we’ll tell ourselves. As you feel any of those thoughts, remember why fellowship is so essential and what we miss when we don’t invest in it. Let me give four specifics.

1. Fellowship reminds us we’re not alone.

Probably the most obvious place to start is with the fact that fellowship reminds us that we’re not alone. In Peter’s first letter, he was writing to Christians who faced persecution for their faith. They were struggling and discouraged. He tells them fairly bluntly, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9). You can imagine why they may have been tempted to grumble. Who feels like sharing a roast when you’re being threatened and pressured for your faith? But sharing meals and sharing our homes is a critical way that we remind ourselves and each other that we’re not all alone in our faith and our walk with Jesus. And it’s what makes the pandemic so dangerous to us right now.

2. Fellowship keeps sin from setting.

Fellowship also keeps sin from setting. The book of Hebrews was written to believers taking heat for their faith. Gathering with other Christians identified a person as ‘one of those people’ and so the temptation was to pull back. In Hebrews chapter 3, there’s a warning against unbelief and falling away, followed by the words, “But exhort one another every day … that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (v. 13). Every believer faces temptation and everyone falls prey to sin, but the warning is that if we’re not invested in fellowship, sin hardens. Without anyone to contradict them, tempting lies become fixed in our minds. Sins become habits which are then entrenched in our lifestyle. Just ‘attending a service’ may not dislodge sin’s power in our lives, but everyday encouragement and interaction with believers are designed to. Fellowship keeps sin from setting.

3. Fellowship makes truth personal.

It also makes truth personal. When most people think of their church, they’re most likely to associate the word with what happens in a building for a set time, usually on a Sunday morning. For many people, that’s their entire experience of church. So much of Sunday morning is passive, though. The message is like a broadcast. It’s aimed in the general direction of the congregation, but it can’t deal with each person specifically and uniquely. I fear that too many of us like it like that! Fellowship is designed to pick up where preaching leaves off. In Colossians 3:16, Paul tells the believers to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.” We’re supposed to let God’s Word sink into our own hearts and then let it overflow in our interactions with each other. We make truth personal in fellowship and without it, God’s Word can often feel abstract and impersonal.

4. Fellowship heals us.

The fourth reason that fellowship is so critical is that it heals us. Christians are taught to confess their sins to God, and it can be incredibly liberating to know that God has forgiven our sins for Jesus’ sake. But everyone has had the experience of confessing the same sin over and over again. After a while, the words feel a little hollow and so does our experience of God’s grace. That’s where fellowship is so vital. In James 5:16, it says, “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” We can’t read this verse simplistically or out of its context, but I believe one of the takeaways is that some sin isn’t just to be confessed to God. When we confess our sins to another believer and they pray for us, it can break the power of sin which is often magnified in isolation. But it’s not supposed to be a one-way dialogue. Through fellowship, we develop safe relationships with people who can hear our confession and share their own. As we pray for God’s grace in each other’s lives, there is healing. Without this kind of fellowship, our shame gives sin its power, and our brokenness remains.

The pandemic is a dangerous time for all of us, spiritually. More dangerous than most of us realize, I fear. But even in a pandemic, there are ways to invest in fellowship. The church has never been limited to an hour or so in a building on Sunday mornings, and it’s a lot more than a YouTube video. Make time for fellowship. Get involved in an online group. Pick up the phone. Encourage someone. COVID-19 can’t stop Christian fellowship.

In awe of Him,

Paul