Bekah Rosie skipped church on Sunday. So did her Sunday school teacher. So did her pastor. In fact, the whole church skipped church—and got out into the community for the entire weekend, serving wherever they could: cooking and delivering meals, clearing shrubbery, giving food to the homeless.

The next Sunday, Pastor Eric Thomas told his church, “You were living church in front of people who weren’t darkening the doors of church.”

Impressively, an account of their out-of-church experience made page one of the newspaper’s local section. It was good news about the Good News!

“In Scripture, church was usually beyond the walls—usually in the community,” said Pastor Eric, “and God put church people in the paths of others to help.”

The practice the pastor is referring to started right after Peter had preached the gospel to a huge crowd in Jerusalem. Three thousand people believed his words about Jesus, repented of their sins, and were baptized (Acts 2:36-41). Eager to do what was right, they devoted themselves to four things: “to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer” (v.42).

Their love for each other was evident and spilled over into the community. Scripture tells us that they “shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of the people” (vv.46-47). The result: “Each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

If you’ve placed your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, join with your brothers and sisters in a like-minded faith community. As we serve others together, there’s no telling what the Holy Spirit will do through us.