Our Lord Jesus Christ proclaims in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell  shall not prevail against it.”

It is extremely exciting and encouraging to see how our Lord is building His church at Evergreen! He gives us specific commands for our church in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” This is why discipleship is the central theme of our church. We define discipleship as, “Intentional relationships that build Christ-likeness”.

The early church provided us with essentials for discipleship in Acts 2:42, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Just like a building requires concrete, steel, wood, and glass, there are critical essentials that are required for discipleship. The four essentials are 1) God’s Word 2) Fellowship 3) Commitment 4) Prayer

Many of us can agree, that we are encouraged when God’s Word is faithfully preached at our church.  Also, we appreciate the opportunity to partake in communion to express our commitment to our Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, we believe that prayer is a necessity in our relationship with God. But, what about fellowship? If fellowship is a high priority to you, praise God!

However, if it is not, I want you to examine your heart and honestly answer the following questions:

·       On the Lord’s Day, are you planning to just attend service and leave right after?

·       Have you been consistently attending our monthly Fellowship Sundays?

·       Are you intentional throughout the week by fellowshipping with other Christians?

·       Do you have 2 or 3 close Christian friends at Evergreen Church?

Of the four critical essentials, I am afraid fellowship may not be a priority for some of us. So, lets dive deeper into the topic of fellowship by asking three questions.

1.     What is fellowship?

Koinonia is a Greek word that appears 20 times in the Bible. Koinonia’s primary meaning is “fellowship, sharing in common, communion.” In our society today, you can find all kinds of fellowship. It is sad to say, but you can argue that the world has a better understanding of fellowship than the church does. You can have fellowship around your career, ethnicity, life stage, sports, or even being fans of the music band BTS. So, what is it that unites believers? The answer is Jesus!

Here at Evergreen Church, we define Christian fellowship as “Intentional Christ centered relationships”. Not just hanging out with friends and co-workers, but intentional Christ centered relationships. This idea of fellowship is a reflection to the unity of the Trinity.  In John 17:22-23, Jesus is speaking to the Father.

“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Our fellowship with others begins with our fellowship with God. This unity in Christ is what brings people together. Regardless if you are a Bruin or Trojan, regardless of age, background, race or social status. 

2.     Why is Fellowship important?

1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” It involves a shared life, a common purpose, a unified goal. The Bible often talks about how believers are to relate to each other. In fact, the phrase “one another” is found approximately 100 times in the New Testament and it is impossible to have a “one another” relationship without fellowship. Fellowship is required for discipleship to happen!

We are given many commands concerning how we are to treat the body of Christ. As 1 Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now you are Christ’s body and individually members of it”. The fellowship within the church is critical for us to build Christ-likeness.

Fellowship allows the following to happen: building one another up (Romans 14:19 and Hebrews 10:24-25), confessing sin and praying for one another (James 5:16), serving one another (Galatians 5:13), being devoted to one another (Acts 2:42-43 and Romans 12:10), encouraging and admonishing one another (Colossians 3:12-17).

Ultimately, fellowship glorifies God and allows the world to see the super natural love that we have for one another!  Christ tell us in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

3.     How can you get connected into fellowship?

I strongly encourage you to visit the Welcome Desk in the lobby or fill out a connection card on our webpage.  Also, every 2nd Sunday of every month, we have a Connect Luncheon where you will have the opportunity to meet our pastors and church members. If you are interested, please contact me, Mako, directly HERE.

Listed below is variety of ways to get connected with fellowship at Evergreen Church:

·       Life Groups (over 20 small groups throughout the SGV)

·       Youth Group

·       College Group

·       Young Adults

·       55+ Ministry (fellowship for people 55 and older)

·       Mom’s Ministry

·       Children’s Ministry

·       Women’s Ministry

·       Adult Christian Education (Sunday school from 9-10am)

·       Prayer Ministry

·       Support Ministry

·       Sports Ministry

·       Fellowship Sunday (1st Sunday of every month)

By Danny Qian

When I first heard that there would be a church “campout” in the summer at our church, I was optimistically cautious.

I was optimistic because I thought that our older girls would love the fellowship with their friends and staying up late with them.  

I was cautious because I never had to be there with them, sleeping in tents (not my preferred sleeping situation) since in previous years they would just campout with the church staff.  

However, knowing that my younger two girls and my wife could also participate, we would definitely have a great time fellowshipping with church families and friends and they could simply go home to sleep and come back to church to participate in more activities the next morning (since we wanted the younger kids to get a good night’s sleep).

The campout turned out to exceed my expectations and the sleeping situation wasn’t too bad either (as I brought air mattresses).

The fellowship was amazing, especially since we really haven’t been able to catch up with many people due to COVID-19. The worship was also awesome and well planned. I was pleasantly surprised that the staff put together a really great outdoor worship program in the grass area, right in front of all the tents.

What I really appreciated beyond the nice worship, good fellowship, all the games and breakfast the following day, was how everything felt simple but to the main point of our faith. The campout simply felt like something that would please the Lord: good fellowship among brothers and sisters in Christ, where Christ was being worshipped in the center of it all.