Most of us at one time or another have engaged in a conversation at some point where the notion of community has come up. We have all heard statements like "It was not like that in our day", "We have lost our community spirit". The notion of neighbours talking over the fence and watching out for each other is regarded as nostalgia, since our lifestyles are more fast paced and individualistic.
Perhaps my first question then is "What does the term community mean to you?"
I am not going to go into a long detailed explanation of the varying concepts of community in this blog. Further reading on this can be done here
http://www.infed.org/community/community.htm
In short the term community can relate to a geographic place or neighbourhood , a community of interest e.g . a church community or sport or hobby group. The third notion of community comes from communion. Communion can have deep profound attachments such as an encounter with God or it can equally have looser attachments.
Of course now there is also the notion of online communities and social networks, which can either be linked to a community of interestor a loose communion concept.
For me, probably the strongest links I have to community is my church and to the city of my birth, Stirling. Of course there are other areas and communities to which I belong, however in terms of where I get a sense of identity those are certainly the strongest for me.
What does that mean for my mission field?
It means that one type of community is where I have my support and nurture i.e. the church and communion in terms in my relationship with God. However other notions of community are my mission field i.e. a place and other community of interests.
When we look at community in these wider senses, in my opinion community is not dead, as God created us to be relational. Human beings will always form relationships and have fellowship with others and God.
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