How Local Churches Transform Communities

Above all, members of church communities should love one another. (Hebrew 15:24; John 13:34, 15:12, 17; Romans 12:10, 13:8; 1 Thess. 3:12, 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 4:7, 11; 2 John 5)

In love, members of church communities should…

…encourage one another to avoid sin (Hebrew 3:13)
…consider how to promote love and good deeds amongst one another (Hebrew 10:24-25)
…encourage and build up one another. (1 Thess. 5:11)
…accept one another. (Romans 15:7)
…be patient with one another. (Ephesians 4:2)
…be kind and tenderhearted to one another. (Ephesians 4:32)
…bear with one another. (Colossians 3:13)
…forgive one another. (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13)
…seek good for one another. (1 Thess. 5:15)
…confess sins to one another. (James 5:16)
…serve one another. (Gal 5:13)
…prefer one another in honor. (Romans 12:10)
…regard one another as more important than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
…associate with one another regardless of social standing. (Romans 12:16)
…be subject to one another. (Ephesians 5:21)
…clothe [themselves] in humility toward one another. (1 Peter 5:5)
…bear one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2)
…speak truth to one another. (Ephesians 4:25)
…comfort one another. (1 Thess. 4:18)
…be hospitable to one another without complaining. (1 Peter 4:9)

As church communities strive to do this, they help form healthy individuals who form healthy families that transform communities.
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Note:
It’s hard for me to see how this type of community can develop when most American Christians only invest one hour per week, and that hour is spent singing a few songs and passively listening to a short sermon.