Community building practices

Each school year in SCSU Cru is a process. First, we do surveys in the dorms with the intent of finding students who are interested in hearing about Jesus and how to have a personal relationship with God. Second, we invite them to come to Cru, a weekly meeting where we have some singing and worship, as well as a short message  about the Bible. Third, we get to know them through follow-up meetings, Bible studies, hanging out at Calvary after Cru, and Fall getaway. Fourth, we challenge them to grow in their faith through leadership opportunities and TCX.

The mission of Cru is: Movements everywhere so that others will…Experience Christ…Embrace the Gospel…Enter into the Mission. I think a defining characteristic of a movement is community. It is a group of people who are saved by grace alone, and who are desiring to get to know Jesus better. Community provides the environment in which it is possible to experience Christ and embrace the gospel. Finally, people are sent out from community to enter the mission.

This summer I got a chance to study “The Gospel in Life,” a small group study guide written by Tim Keller. The book describes how the gospel touches all aspects of my life, from my heart to my community to my view of the world.

Tim Keller gives 9 community building practices, which challenged me as I hope they will challenge you:

1. Affirming one another’s strengths, abilities, and gifts. I think Cru staff do a great job of this within the student leaders. One helpful article on this is “Consider Each Other How to Stir Up Love“
2. Affirming one another’s equal importance in Christ. I see this in the student leaders in the Bridges ministry, who spend time reaching out to international students, who normally do not have a high status at SCSU.
3. Affirming one another through visible affection. I thought this one was interesting. “We must not be cold, clipped, abrupt, indifferent, and harsh with one another. More than that, we must be willing to actually talk about our love for each other.”
4. Sharing one another’s space, goods, and time. I see this whenever I get a ride to church on Sunday. If you are a new student, take a look at our list of local churches and ask around for a ride.
5. Sharing one another’s needs and problems. This goes both ways. “Share with others our grief and weakness and allow them to give us their love and support. We are to be willing to find people who are hurting and offer whatever support they need.”
6. Sharing one another’s beliefs, thinking, and spirituality. This basically means learning together, which is done in Cru on Thursdays, in a Bible study during the week, and with other students who attend the same church as you do.
7. Serving one another through accountability. “We must voluntarily develop a circle of Christian friends to whom we are regularly accountable for areas of behavior that are especially difficult, or in which self-deception is easy.”
8. Serving one another through forgiveness and reconciliation. As we get closer to one another, feelings will be hurt and problems will come up. But we must grow, not diminish, in love for one another. “We must never tire of forgiving (and/or repenting) and seeking to repair our relationships.”
9. Serving one another’s interests rather than our own. This is the heart of a servant, and the heart of a leader. Christ set aside his own interests and took the form of a servant to die and rise again for us.

Which of these categories of community-building are we best at? Why? Which of these categories are we worst at? Why? Thoughts below in the comments…