Wisdom for FriendshipsSample

Friendships Can Change Communities

Friends don’t just change us. They change the world around us.

We can see this in all our relationships. When we have the support of good friends—people who encourage us when we need help, and challenge us when we need to change—that influence bleeds through to the other connections in our lives. We become more loving, patient, and kind, and others reap the benefit. Entire generations can be impacted because of the friendships in one person’s life. This is how God designed friendships to work.

And the impact doesn’t stop with our friends and family members. Colleagues at work (or fellow students at school) can feel the effects of the good relationships in your life, whether they realize it or not. The more your friends support you, the more you’ll feel the fruit of the Spirit in your life—like joy and peace—and the effects of that fruit will be felt by the people around you.

It works the other direction too. When you support your friends, their family members, friends, and acquaintances also get to experience the effects of your care. You might not think about how much influence you have, but the truth is, a group of friends can have a huge impact on their community.

One of the easiest ways a group of friends can make an impact on their community is by intentionally serving other people together. This kind of service can take so many different forms (and we’ll take a broader look at what this can look like tomorrow), but for today, we’ll look at one simple way you and your friends could begin making an impact—by serving in your local church.

No matter what kind of church you attend, chances are someone needs help with something. Maybe the kids’ ministry or hospitality team needs more volunteers on the weekend, or the pastors could use help visiting people in the hospital. When you and your friends give your time and your talents to serve your local church, there’s no stopping the change you can make in your community.

Consider: How could you and your friends serve your local church? Is there a particular need or passion God has put on your heart? If you’d like to learn more about what serving looks like at Life.Church, visit www.life.church/serving