One of the great joys of being part of a 75-year-old church is meeting the wonderful people who have been in it since nearly the beginning. I spoke to leaders from the Navigators and Homebuilders, Schweitzer’s two longest-running classes, about how a group lasts for 50+ years, and what sort of impact that can have. Here are a couple of key elements these two classes have in common, which I find incredibly inspiring.
- They are not just places to learn. It takes more than just the excellent teaching these classes are known for to knit a group as close together as these are. In addition to the one hour each week they spend in class, they have dinner at each other’s houses, plan events together, and occupy each other’s lives in a myriad of other ways. Alice Duwe shared that the “camaraderie of the class” is what keeps people coming back. These are not simply classmates but the deepest of friends, who both know and are fully known by their community.
- They adapt to new life stages. “Ages change; fellowship has not changed,” John Parker told me. Whether it is by watching each other’s young kids, navigating together the process of empty nesting, or calling and visiting those who have moved into retirement facilities and are unable to attend the class, the group members listen to each other and sacrificially give their time and resources to meet the needs of the others in their community.
How might my mindset change if I entered a small group or class expecting to find lifelong friends? In a culture where nearly everything feels increasingly temporary, including relationships, I find myself pondering this question deeply. Christ invites us to live life together, even though this challenges the individualism we naturally tend toward. As John Wesley puts it, there is “no holiness but social holiness.” Our faith cannot grow in isolation; it must be worked out through journeying together with others. Who is Jesus calling you to become over the next 30, 40, or 50 years, and have you found anyone else who you can move in that direction alongside? If not, let’s talk.
