Read any Christian book about community; the author will remind you that believers are better together. As children adopted into God’s family, His Word commands us to share life together. Though you will not find the word community in any English translation of the Scripture, the concept is certainly a central theme. God desires that we mutually encourage each other through our faith. My faith builds yours, and yours builds mine.

My son-in-law, a men’s ministry director at his church, often wears a t-shirt that says, Ask Me Hard Questions. His statements about community make sense. “Community involves asking each other questions that get beyond the surface. Asking and receiving hard questions are part of choosing community over comfort.” Community is good but not always pleasant or comfortable because it requires ripping off the masks we would rather hide behind.

Working at a small international Christian school in Europe, a community was forged among the staff. Each morning during staff devotions, we looked to His Word, prayed for each other’s families until we felt we knew them personally, and encouraged each other through psalms and hymns. In the second-floor teacher workroom, we shared life’s struggles and mistakes and sometimes wept together as we prayed for our students and the families who sent their children to our school. Connected by the bond of living and serving in a culture that was not our own, friendships blossomed, and faith grew.

Writing for TEAM in 2016, Deb Wyss shared this beautiful description of living out community as global workers. “My offering to the [m] field was to be a real human who experiences life just like everyone else, but with my eyes fixed on Jesus. Jesus stepped down into our world and lived a life. Jesus and his disciples walked side-by-side down dusty roads together. Jesus washed their feet. His disciples saw him in agony. Jesus asked for their support. They shared meals together. He imparted words of life… Life on the [m] field is about putting one foot in front of the other alongside the lost, speaking along the way of the reason for the hope that is in us. Letting others into my space, into my world, into my hurts, joys, and into my everyday toil as I cling to Jesus is a tender but life-giving place to be.”