The Importance of Community
Lately I’ve read in several different books and articles about the vital importance of having good community. We live in an age of individualism and ‘atomisation’. Our culture has sadly developed in such a way that many of us live lives separated from others, with no real and meaningful community. Facebook is about the closest many people get to community – no wonder depression is on the rise! Atomisation and isolation make it so much harder to stand firm in one’s beliefs and face life’s trials. In fact, research has shown that having just one person on our side can make all the difference in standing up for our beliefs!
Church Community
If nothing else, Covid demonstrated the importance of having good networks and friendships. Our family recently (in amongst the Covid craziness) switched to attending a local church 5 minutes away from home, which has meant that we now actually live nearby many people from our church! This has the added bonus of making it easier to be actively involved in serving at church, which is another important element to belonging in a community.
ParkRun Community
Earlier this year our family joined the ParkRun community, which is another regular meeting of familiar faces, some of whom we also see at church. We (and especially our kids) enjoy seeing friends afterwards, and it’s a fun way to get some exercise.
Homeschooling Community
And then of course there’s the homeschooling community. Even though we homeschoolers might be seen as oddities by the outside world, having a bunch of like-minded people surrounding us and cheering us on is an amazing antidote. I see this in myself, for example in the way I think about how many children I have. To the outside world, I probably appear totally looney with 6 six children in tow (and I feel the stares when we all venture out to the shops together!) But amongst my homeschooling family, I feel completely average! Not only that, I feel like I’m doing what God has called me to do. If it weren’t for this community, I know that I would feel embarrassed and somehow abnormal. Instead, I am free to embrace God’s wonderful gift of motherhood and family!
Swimming Against the Tide
We are so easily influenced by the culture around us – just look at marriage and children trends in the church. They pretty much follow the culture, just several years behind. This illustrates the supreme importance of being involved in a community of fellow believers who hold to God’s word, who aren’t afraid to swim against the cultural tide and can encourage one another to be courageous in creating a counter-culture that might be uncool or even un-PC.
Whatever your beliefs, find a strong community to be a part of! Join and be actively involved in a local church, in homeschooling groups, or sports clubs. Connection is essential to who we are as humans – we need one another!
