~ by Sister Dana Raye

Our Experience with TCC 

These things (the areas of True Christian Community) have been on our minds a lot since coming back to the United States and getting settled in American culture again.  My most meaningful experience with Christian community was definitely in Italy.  There are so many reasons why I think that occurred.  A passionate Pastor, vision, focus on outreach, and the tight-knit base community were a few of the reasons.  Living out my faith with a small group of believers included so many things: meeting together, worshipping, praying together, serving each other, and finding others to serve. 

Here’s How I See TCC

I believe Christian community is about bearing one another’s burdens and praying for one another, as Scripture teaches.  When you meet the basic goal of loving each other and building one another up, then you automatically want to share that with others and bring those who are hurting into the comfort of other believers.  Since leaving Italy, I have continued to see the fruit that comes from regular small group meetings, honestly sharing, prayer, and outreach with other believers.  In my short years of experience with these concepts, I believe the key is removing the masks we hide behind and being our true selves with others. The building called church didn’t change my life; coming to know God myself and through others did. The relationships are everything!

Community Killers

My experience with “community-killers” probably came early on with one church’s attempt to disciple me through guidelines and books rather than personal interaction and love.  I believe Christians do not mean to use as much lingo, rules, and traditions as we do, but it is comfortable and easy to do in a world where acceptance is so important in all other aspects of life.  In that mindset, many people lose sight of the true mission of the church.  Also, the local church not being so “local” can put a different spin on things.  I have met lots of people who drive 45 minutes to an hour for the large church with great music and a lot of activities to be involved in.  I sometimes wish we still had a neighborhood church, park, market, school.  Then people may really bear one another’s burdens, have a sense of community, and make the community a strong place.  Now we have to let everyone practice their own belief system, stay quiet, don’t offend, mind our own business, and drive our cars to a place we call church.  I believe the body of believers should take church into the community more and meet people where they need it.  I see them everyday in the emergency room where I work…they are sad, hurting, seeking pills to numb spiritual pain that has become physical, and looking for answers. We need to bridge that gap somehow, reach out to people, and bring them into a loving community of believers.  Unfortunately, I do not have a simple, cut and dry answer for how to do that!

Different Congregations; Same Components

I believe that in the same way the body has many parts, each church will have a unique approach.  This is exciting to me because we all have different ideas and abilities, and we cannot all be a part of the same congregation!  The way each body of believers lives out community may look different in practice, but it will always be based in love and living as a servant. I think the struggle is to challenge people in each church to own up to their calling and realize that they and the church have a mission here on earth.  Every believer is called to share how Christ changed them and serve, but not all do (always be ready to give an account!).  I think the proper discipleship of new believers, challenge to old ones, and an appropriate forum in which to live out life together (whatever it may look like) are the crucial components to developing True Christian Community.

~ Mrs. Dana Raye faithfully served as a LifeTeam Servant (small group leader) along with her husband Bryan in the Serenissima Bible Church in Northeast Italy. Dana & Bryan now live in Tennessee where they are faithfully serving in their local Church and raising their daughter Eva.