牧者心聲

我是家中第一個信主的成員，當時是班上一位同學向我傳福音的。他並沒有多說甚麼，只送我一本名叫《人造衛星發現方舟》的小冊子，但天父卻藉著這小冊子向我說話。書中的內容不僅化解了我對科學與信仰矛盾的疑惑，也讓我認識了「罪」的真實與「救恩」的方向。我看完後便告訴那位同學，我願意信主，於是他就領我參加學校團契的佈道聚會，在那裡我決志信主了。

當時我還是中學生，家人只知道我每週都會參加學校的團契聚會與相關活動。後來，我開始上教會，但只是參加少年團契。家人對「團契」這個用詞沒有特別抗拒，漸漸地，他們看見我越來越投入，也發現我在學業上有所進步，便開始接受我出席星期日的崇拜和主日學。很長的一段日子裡，崇拜、團契、主日學就成了我信仰生活的「三寶」。從初中、高中、大專、以至踏入職場，「三寶」都是我屬靈成長的環境。回想那個階段，除了講壇上的教牧同工之外，我印象最深的，就是那些陪伴我成長的團契導師和主日學老師。

雖然教會裡每個團契都有固定聚會時間，但對我而言，團契不僅是個聚會，團契是信徒在相交中實踐信仰使命的地方。從少年時期開始，學校團契就是孕育我靈命成長的搖籃，也是我學習事奉的起點。教會的團契則讓我在更大的群體中學習成長。團契就像一個「小教會」，大家在當中一同努力實踐信仰的整全使命，有敬拜、查經、相交、佈道、外展——「麻雀雖小，五臟俱全」。

然而，無論形式如何，團契最終都是建立在肢體相連、連於基督的關係之上。「團契」一詞的希臘原文意思是「共享」與「參與」，也常被翻譯為「相交」。潘霍華牧師在《團契生活》中指出：「團契就是透過耶穌基督，並在耶穌基督裡面那一種甜美和諧的生活。」在北宣這個屬靈家庭中，團契相交不僅存在於名為「團契」的群體裡，也活現於各種不同的小組使命團隊之中。在這些群體裡，我們與團友、組員一同學習真理，愛神愛人，實踐信仰；在相處中彼此接納扶持，在信仰上互相激勵，一同學習更像基督。

親愛的弟兄姊妹，主耶穌正等待你加入屬於祂的團契小組。在你身邊，其實很容易就能找到一位正在參與團契小組的肢體，只要你開口問一問他／她，就會知道可以如何參加團契小組了。

  I was the first person in my family to come to faith. At that time, it was a classmate who shared the gospel with me. He did not say much. He only gave me a small booklet entitled Artificial Satellites Discovered the Ark. Yet, our Heavenly Father spoke to me through that booklet. Its content not only resolved my doubts about the conflict between science and faith, but also helped me understand the reality of “sin” and what “salvation” points to. After reading it, I told my classmate that I was willing to believe in the Lord. He then brought me to an evangelistic meeting held by the school fellowship, where I made my decision to follow Christ.

  At that time, I was still a secondary school student. My family only knew that I attended school fellowship meetings and related activities every week. Later on, I began attending church, though only the youth fellowship. My family did not strongly object to the term “fellowship.” Gradually, as they saw me becoming more and more committed and noticed improvement in my academic performance, they began to accept my participation in Sunday worship services and Sunday school. For a long period of time, worship services, fellowship, and Sunday school became the “three essentials” of my faith life. From junior secondary school, senior secondary school, tertiary education, and into the workplace, these “three essentials” formed the environment in which I grew spiritually. Looking back at that stage of my life, apart from the pastors in the pulpit, the people who left the deepest impression on me were the fellowship counselors and Sunday school teachers who walked alongside me in my growth.

  Although every fellowship in the church has its own regular meeting time, to me, fellowship is far more than just a gathering. Fellowship is a place where believers live out their faith and mission through mutual sharing. From my teenage years, school fellowship was the cradle that nurtured my spiritual growth and the starting point of my learning to serve. Church fellowship, in turn, allowed me to learn and grow within a larger community. Fellowship is like a “small church,” where everyone works together to live out the holistic mission of faith: worship, Bible study, fellowship, evangelism, and outreach. Though small in size, it is comprehensive in many ways.

  Yet, regardless of its form, fellowship is ultimately built upon relationships among the members of the body, all connected to Christ. The Greek word for “fellowship” carries the meaning of “sharing” and “participation,” and is often translated as “communion.” In Life Together, Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out that Christian fellowship is the sweet, harmonious life together through and in Jesus Christ. In the spiritual family of NPAC, fellowship is not limited to groups explicitly called “fellowship,” but is also lived out in various small groups and missional groups. Within these communities, we learn the truth together with fellow members, love God and love others, and put our faith into practice. As we spend time together, we accept and support one another, encourage each other in faith, and learn together to become more like Christ.

  Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus is waiting for you to join a fellowship group that belongs to Him. In fact, it is very easy to find someone around you who is already participating in a fellowship group. Simply ask him or her, and you will know how to join one yourself.