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Loving Relationships

Loving Relationships

       Many years ago a church member told me that the church she attended was not a loving church.

    When asked  what she meant it would appear that for this person ‘love’ meant a Christian group who were more open to a charismatic style of worship. Love means different things for different people.

    The people who have scientifically tried to find out what makes a growing church have found a number of quality characteristics that together make up a growing church.

    One characteristic of a growing church is that relationships within the church are defined as ‘loving’.  The experts have worked out that love can be measured by the amount of time church members spend with each other outside of official church sponsored events.

    For example, in the survey offered to participating churches, the question is asked, “how often do church members invite church friends around for a drink”?

    Further questions are asked about whether church members pay each other compliments and if there is laughter in the church.

    These seem inconsequential questions, but at least these questions show consistent responses across growing churches. People in growing churches offer each other compliments, laugh and are happy to have church members at their homes outside of church events.

    Psalm 133:2 puts it well, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”

    Newark Seventh-day Adventist Church wants to grow as a healthy church. One area that we  will want to major in is as we create loving relationships by meeting with each other outside of our worship events.