I was the first person in my family to come to faith. At that time, it was a classmate who shared the gospel with me. He did not say much. He only gave me a small booklet entitled Artificial Satellites Discovered the Ark. Yet, our Heavenly Father spoke to me through that booklet. Its content not only resolved my doubts about the conflict between science and faith, but also helped me understand the reality of “sin” and what “salvation” points to. After reading it, I told my classmate that I was willing to believe in the Lord. He then brought me to an evangelistic meeting held by the school fellowship, where I made my decision to follow Christ.

        At that time, I was still a secondary school student. My family only knew that I attended school fellowship meetings and related activities every week. Later on, I began attending church, though only the youth fellowship. My family did not strongly object to the term “fellowship.” Gradually, as they saw me becoming more and more committed and noticed improvement in my academic performance, they began to accept my participation in Sunday worship services and Sunday school. For a long period of time, worship services, fellowship, and Sunday school became the “three essentials” of my faith life. From junior secondary school, senior secondary school, tertiary education, and into the workplace, these “three essentials” formed the environment in which I grew spiritually. Looking back at that stage of my life, apart from the pastors in the pulpit, the people who left the deepest impression on me were the fellowship counselors and Sunday school teachers who walked alongside me in my growth.

        Although every fellowship in the church has its own regular meeting time, to me, fellowship is far more than just a gathering. Fellowship is a place where believers live out their faith and mission through mutual sharing. From my teenage years, school fellowship was the cradle that nurtured my spiritual growth and the starting point of my learning to serve. Church fellowship, in turn, allowed me to learn and grow within a larger community. Fellowship is like a “small church,” where everyone works together to live out the holistic mission of faith: worship, Bible study, fellowship, evangelism, and outreach. Though small in size, it is comprehensive in many ways.

         Yet, regardless of its form, fellowship is ultimately built upon relationships among the members of the body, all connected to Christ. The Greek word for “fellowship” carries the meaning of “sharing” and “participation,” and is often translated as “communion.” In Life Together, Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out that Christian fellowship is the sweet, harmonious life together through and in Jesus Christ. In the spiritual family of NPAC, fellowship is not limited to groups explicitly called “fellowship,” but is also lived out in various small groups and missional groups. Within these communities, we learn the truth together with fellow members, love God and love others, and put our faith into practice. As we spend time together, we accept and support one another, encourage each other in faith, and learn together to become more like Christ.

          Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus is waiting for you to join a fellowship group that belongs to Him. In fact, it is very easy to find someone around you who is already participating in a fellowship group. Simply ask him or her, and you will know how to join one yourself.