God's School for His Children--by Linden Malki

Jesus was basically raised "in church".  He went to  synagogue regularly, and the major pilgrimage holidays most years. He collected a group of students/mentorees at the beginning of his ministry, and after his resurrection, he spent time with the "family" he had developed. His last words to his followers, when he was preparing them for his return to his Father, were for them to first, spend time in prayer with each other, and then to build a fellowship to continue his mission on this earth. This is the pattern for what became the "church" as his Word broke out of its dependency on the Jewish community.

We can see the plan--the Jerusalem church stayed centered on a core of people from the Jewish community. We can see the kicking and screaming as the Peter and Paul and Barnabas and others brought reports of the Gospel breaking out of its kindergarten.  One thing that happened is that James, Jesus' brother and the heir to the leadership of the community, was pushed off of a parapet of the Temple and clubbed to death at the bottom. Then when the political situation in Jerusalem was getting rough, that little group remembered Jesus' warnings about the disintegration coming, and followed the instructions to get out of town.  Where they went was Pella, a Greek city on the other  side of the Jordan valley, one of the Decapolis cities. Religiously, it is said to have originally had only the Gospel of Matthew, and was known for its care of the poor. It was conquered in 635 by a Moslem army, but as late as 2002 there was still a Roman Catholic bishop there (that part of Jordan had a fairly large minority of Christians when I was there in 1963, but I don't know how they have done since. That area has always been somewhat isolated from the mainstream church).

We also can watch the stories of the spread of churches throughout the world--this has always been a major connection that God has made with His children. We need the support of others on the same path; to keep each other accountable and engaged. It can be easy for a church to get off track; pay more attention to the surface piety of the people but don't see the reality in attitude or real life. We are part of a global family, but we need to be connected with the realities of growing spiritually in a world that does not support healthy relationships with each other and with the most important Relationship  in our lives.