I am very thankful for the group of believers that God has surrounded me with since moving to Tallahassee.  Before moving to Tallahassee to attend grad school at FSU, I knew very few people.  I knew even fewer Christians and had little idea where to begin looking for a church.  I knew that I wanted to get connected and plugged into a local group of believers, to be surrounded by others that loved God in order to grow and also become an active part of the body of Christ. However, as I began my first semester of grad school, I put off the search and got too wrapped up in my studies and school.  My relationship and communication with God took a back seat to school work and I focused on adjusting to a new town and difficult classes.  I got caught up daily in what I deemed important and began to get comfortable and complacent in my walk with God.

It wasn't until the next semester that God opened up the opportunity to become a part of a local bible study with a few of my fellow students and a local physician in town.  It's funny to think about what my first initial thoughts were in approaching my decision to attend the once a week bible study.  "I just don't know if I have enough time" or "I'll try to squeeze the study in" were consistent thoughts I had that made me feel comfortable that I wanted to attend the study, but at the same time allowed me an out in case this interfered with my school work.  The bible study is led by a local Christian physician who graciously opened up his home and continues to meet with myself and a group of fellow students every week.  Halfway through the first meeting I saw with such clarity how I had let my studies and things that I deemed important stagnate my relationship with God.  Yes I prayed and read my Bible during the week, but I had started placing such little emphasis on the importance of doing those things and consistently approached God with the incorrect motivation of praying and reading my Bible because as a Christian I was "supposed to" and not because I truly wanted to know Him.  My daily routine and the things that I had become invested in were so temporary and lacking in real substance; school and everything else had taken over as my first priority.  God showed me how important intimate Christian fellowship is in our spiritual growth and the joy and strength there is in gathering with others to study scripture, share our struggles, and share how amazing God has been in our lives.  True fellowship, that is founded on a mutual love of God and belief in Christ, cannot be replaced or substituted with those relationships we have outside of Christ with non-believers.  I have a lot of non-Christian friends whom I spend time with every day and whom I love and care deeply about.  And I am certain that God has allowed me to get to know them in order to share His love and the gospel with them.  However, I  don't share the same depth or intimacy in my relationships with my non-Christian friends as I do with my Christian friends, with whom I share a mutual priority and motivation to serve God daily in my life and seek to glorify Him in all that I do.

Proverbs 27:17 says "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."  King Solomon, the author of Proverbs, speaks to the benefit of fellowship to promote wisdom and growth of ourselves as well as those with whom we fellowship.  By gathering together to share how God has spoken to us, with the things we may struggle with, and how He is working in our lives we benefit ourselves and those around us.  I have experienced this personally in my weekly men's bible study as well as in my City Church Community group.  Through spending time with other believers in scripture and sharing in their lives and how God is working through them, I find that my relationship and walk with God has improved.  This fellowship has been a true blessing for me and of great benefit, and I now really cherish Mondays and Wednesdays and hate to miss spending time with my groups due to the joy I have found in fellowship with other believers.  I also think it's awesome how Solomon, the single most intelligent individual in the history of the world, found benefit in spending time with others so much that he was led to make note of it in Proverbs.

Everyone has different situations and seasons of life that we are currently in and many times it is hard to find extra time during the week for something else on top of all of the tests and exams, the play dates and kids sporting events, the football games and times with family. However, if you haven't had the opportunity to join a City Church community group I would wholeheartedly recommend it as God has greatly blessed my time and interactions within my group.