Kinship
I am so thankful that I am going to my church. There are thousands in the area, and I feel blessed to be a part of this local body in particular. I am privileged to see God at work in the lives of a small and intimate group of people, my spiritual family. I can honestly say that I consider these people family. For about as long as I have been attending this church I have made part of a small group that meets Sunday evenings. We call these small groups "kinship groups".
The purpose of kinship groups is not to study the Bible, though that is what we are doing at the moment. Rather, there is an intentional directive of getting to know each other on an intimate level while together seeking a closer walk with God. Never before have I seen or been part of such a meaningful group of people. The ages and backgrounds of each person who comes is diverse, and somehow it still works. There is a family love there that extends beyond verbal description.
Typical meetings involve reading a book together and discussing our reactions, praying for each other, joking and eating snacks. In my humble opinion, these small gatherings feel more like church than any worship service I have been to. Considering that the body of Christ is not composed of a building or a program, such feelings make sense. The body of Christ is made up of the people, the hearts who choose to follow Him together. And for me, there has been no clearer picture of this than what I have experienced in small groups. If there is anyone out there who just doesn't feel part of a church, and it feels empty just attending a large service each week; find out if your church offers small groups of some sort, the type that meet regularly in someone's home in the evenings. I don't think you will regret it.