The Bible encourages believers—new and old alike– to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). The first step in this process is to become actively involved in the ministry of a local church.

All Christians are members of the body of Christ, which is the true church. It is God’s will that Christians meet together as a spiritual body on the local level—which they have been doing for nearly two thousand years. A number of New Testament letters were written to local groups of believers in different parts of the Roman Empire.

The writer of Hebrews 10:25 admonished the first-century followers of Christ: “Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near” (TLB).

Therefore, we cannot overemphasize the importance of fellowship in the church. There is something about fellowship within the body of believers in the local church that is unique and cannot be found elsewhere. If one live coal falls from the fire, it soon grows cold. The same principle in the spiritual sense holds true.

To neglect fellowship in church is to give up the encouragement and help of other Christians. We gather together to share our faith and strengthen one another in the Lord.