Why do Christians need a church community?

Christians need a church community because God made us to belong, and faith gets stronger when it is shared. In Acts 2:42-47 the first believers devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, shared meals and prayer, and the Lord added to their number day by day. I believe that shared life is what church is for. I preached this sermon at UAMEZ Church during our 2025 relaunch. Watch the full sermon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgxI0Cw_opg

What does it mean that you were made to belong?

It means your worth comes from God before you do anything. Genesis says God created humankind in his own image. You are not a mistake, and you are not invisible. Your dignity is a birthright. "You don't have to hustle for what God already gave you." God also said it is not good for the man to be alone, so belonging is part of the design. "You weren't just made to survive, you were made to belong." When we relaunched UAMEZ, I gathered 15 to 20 people on Zoom to name our core values. Community came right after God's presence.

Does the church have room for who I really am?

It should, because being made in God's image includes your story and your culture. For centuries some preachers twisted Scripture to defend slavery and segregation (JSTOR Daily). Our own AME Zion Church began when Black Methodists in New York built a place where they could worship and preach with dignity (A.M.E. Zion Church). Jesus did not erase the identity of the Samaritan woman or the Ethiopian eunuch. He restored their dignity within it. This house is for everyone who has been made to feel like an outsider because of race, ethnicity, gender or any other label.

Why can't I just do faith on my own?

Going it alone is a cultural habit that Scripture never blesses. Many of us bought the bootstraps myth, the idea that we can ghost anyone and handle life by ourselves. Even calling Jesus my personal savior can make salvation sound like a solo project. Acts 2 tells us all the believers were together and shared everything. Earlier in that chapter, people from North Africa, Greece, Rome and Arabia hear the gospel, and by the end they are one body. I have prayer partners I've had for almost 20 years. I have seen them at their worst, and I have seen God's fingerprints on what came next. "You were never meant to walk alone."

Is watching church online enough?

Online church helps, and it still leaves you by yourself. I love watching sermons online. They teach me and sometimes inspire me, and it is still just me and a screen. My mom watches our livestream from New York, and I'm grateful she can. Something happens in the room that a screen can't give. Think about a 49ers game. Fans show up early, pay the ticket price and sit enraptured, then go home without any shared life. "This is not a stage show. This is a spiritual family."

What made the Acts 2 church grow?

Their shared life made them powerful. They were devoted to the word, all of it, including the parts that don't suit our posts. They practiced radical fellowship, and that includes the introverts saying hello to the new person. They were generous with their time and their possessions. They worshiped with joy in dark seasons too, because at any given time a third to half of the room is going through something. And they invited people. One of our members has shared every event flyer in the Stanford Black group chat since our first launch meetings, and people have joined the church because of it. Sometimes evangelism is just asking, do you want to come?

Where can I find real community?

Look for a church that wants to form people more than it wants to draw crowds. "The Acts 2 church was not impressive to the Roman Empire, but it was irresistible to the hurting." If you have been standing on the edge, step in. If you have been surviving, start belonging. At UAMEZ we want to be a place where you can grow, serve, be known and be healed.

Join us Sundays at 10 AM PT at 3549 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94306, or watch live at youtube.com/@uamez. Plan your visit at uamez.com.