A Note from Michael Gossett
The Church in a Lonely World
We live in what many are calling the “loneliness epidemic.” However, this is not simply a metaphor or an exaggerated label. In May 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory warning that loneliness has become one of the most significant public health crises of our day. Nearly half of American adults report feeling consistently lonely. Harvard researchers have found that more than 60 percent of young adults say they are “seriously lonely.” Loneliness is not confined to one age group or demographic. It stretches across every generation and every neighborhood.
Globally, the statistics are no less staggering. The World Health Organization now recognizes loneliness as a significant social and health challenge worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the government has gone so far as to appoint a “Minister of Loneliness” to address the crisis. Japan has also established a cabinet position dedicated to combating isolation after rising suicide rates linked to social withdrawal.
Ironically, this is happening in an age when we are more digitally “connected” than ever before. Social media promises us connection with thousands of people, yet it often leaves us scrolling alone in the dark. We post carefully curated moments, but beneath the filters, many feel unseen and unknown. We have constant communication, but little communion. We text more than we talk. We follow more than we truly know.
The effects of this loneliness are devastating. Studies show that chronic loneliness increases the risk of depression, anxiety, heart disease, dementia, and early death. Some researchers argue that prolonged loneliness is as dangerous as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. But beyond the physical toll, there is a deep spiritual consequence. Isolation leaves believers vulnerable to temptation, despair, and drifting from the faith. It is no accident that Peter describes Satan as a prowling lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Like a lion separating a sheep from the flock, Satan loves to isolate believers, because isolation makes us easier prey. It’s like getting a wolf alone, separated from the rest of the pack, and therefore becoming a weak and easy target.
From the very beginning, God declared, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). That statement is not only about marriage. It is about the human condition. We were created in the image of a relational God. The Father, Son, and Spirit have lived eternally in perfect fellowship. To be made in God’s image means we are designed for a relationship with God and with one another. To live in isolation is to live against the design of creation itself.
So what is the answer to the loneliness epidemic? It is not more screen time, more shallow connections, or more attempts to numb the ache. The answer is found in what God Himself has given…. the church.
The Church as God’s Answer
Acts chapter 2 provides us with a vision of the church that is both profound in its beauty and simplicity. After the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, Luke writes, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:42, 46–47, CSB).
The word “devoted” is key. This was not half-hearted. It was not casual or occasional. They gave themselves to one another. The fellowship of the early church was not an optional add-on to their faith. It was central to their faith. They listened to the Word together, prayed together, ate together, and worshiped together as one. The church was not an event they attended. It was a family they belonged to.
Theologically, this should not surprise us. Salvation in Christ is never only about a vertical relationship with God. It also creates a horizontal relationship with one another. Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 2:14-16, where he says Christ is our peace, who has broken down the dividing wall of hostility and made us one new people. The gospel does not simply save isolated individuals. It creates a new community. This is why the New Testament constantly uses family language for the church. We are brothers and sisters. We are the household of God. We are fellow citizens of the kingdom.
The church, then, is not merely a human invention to solve loneliness. It is God’s design. It is the household where His children are adopted and embraced. It is the body where every member is joined to Christ, the Head. It is the temple where God dwells by His Spirit. To belong to Christ is to belong to His people. This is why we constantly say in our church that we want to Connect to Christ and His Church.
The Theology of Belonging
Why does the church matter so much for a lonely world? Because it is the place where God has promised to dwell with His people. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:22, “In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.” That phrase “built together” tells us that God does not intend for Christians to remain isolated bricks. A single brick by itself is useless. But when joined together, bricks form a temple where God’s presence dwells.
This belonging is not based on worldly categories of similarity but on the grace of God in Christ. The early church in Jerusalem was a diverse group. Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and poor, slave and free. Yet in Christ they were united. Their unity was not superficial. It was supernatural. The blood of Christ tore down every barrier.
This is why the church is profoundly countercultural. In the church, generations worship together. Wealthy business owners worship beside the unemployed. Families open their homes to widows and orphans. People who would have no reason to gather in the world are bound together by Christ. When the church truly lives out this calling, it becomes a visible testimony of the power of the gospel. The church is a foretaste of heaven, where people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will worship before the throne (Revelation 7:9).
In a world that is lonely and fragmented, the church is meant to be the most compelling picture of belonging that exists on earth.
The Tragedy of Shallow Community
If this is God’s vision, we must also confess how often we fall short. Many today treat the church as a product to consume rather than a family to belong to. Attendance is sporadic. Relationships remain superficial. Fellowship is crowded out by busyness. In this way, even inside the church people can feel profoundly lonely.
Part of the problem is cultural individualism. We have been taught to prize autonomy above all. We want Christ without His body, spirituality without accountability, faith without fellowship. But Christianity cannot be lived in isolation. The New Testament commands are filled with “one another” imperatives: love one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, bear one another’s burdens. None of these can be obeyed alone.
Churches also bear responsibility. We sometimes substitute programs for fellowship. We can become so busy organizing events that we forget the necessity of relationships. We may pack schedules with services and activities but never cultivate the depth of life together that Acts 2 describes. Rows of chairs are not enough to create community. True fellowship requires shared meals, open homes, prayer together, and walking side by side through the highs and lows of life.
When the church neglects this, it not only fails its members. It fails its witness to the world. A lonely world is looking for belonging. If they cannot find it among God’s people, where else will they turn?
The Call to True Fellowship
If loneliness is the epidemic of our age, then the church must be the cure. This requires us to reclaim a biblical vision of fellowship. The church is not a place where you go to watch something happen. It is the people of God, gathered and joined by the Spirit.
True fellowship is costly. It requires time, vulnerability, and sacrifice. It calls us to open our homes as well as our hearts. It invites us to carry burdens and confess sins, to pray for one another and rejoice with one another. It means moving past surface-level greetings and into the kind of relationships where we are truly known and truly loved.
At the heart of this is Christ Himself. He is the one who builds His church (Matthew 16:18). He is the cornerstone that holds us together (Ephesians 2:20). He is the elder brother who welcomes us into the family of God. To embrace the church is to embrace Christ. To neglect the church is to neglect one of His greatest gifts to His people.
Practical Steps for Today
- Commit to regular, faithful gathering with our church family. Presence is not optional. It is essential to spiritual health.
- Move beyond Sunday greetings. Invite others into your home, share meals, and build relationships that go deeper.
- Join a Connect Group where you can get to know others and be known yourself.
- Look for the lonely. Each week, pray that God would open your eyes to someone who feels unseen, and take the first step to welcome them.
- Prioritize people over programs. Do not let busyness replace relationships. Fellowship is not an event but a way of life.
This Sunday at Green Acres
This Sunday at Green Acres, I would like to personally invite you to join us for worship as we open God’s Word together in Luke 7:31-35 at either 9:30 am or 11:00 am. In this passage, Jesus exposes the restless heart of unbelief. This is a heart that is never satisfied, always resisting, and always looking for excuses. The crowds rejected John because he was too harsh, and they rejected Jesus because He was too merciful. But Jesus reminds us that no matter how the world responds, “wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
This message gets right to the heart of where so many of us struggle. We often want God on our terms. We want Him to fit our expectations, to solve our problems, to answer our demands. And when He doesn’t, we grow restless and critical. But the gospel calls us to something better: to lay down our resistance, to see Jesus for who He really is, and to become living proof of God’s wisdom through a transformed life.
If you’ve ever wrestled with doubt, if you’ve ever struggled with disappointment, or if you’ve ever felt tempted to dismiss God’s plan because it didn’t line up with yours, then this message is for you. Come and worship with us this Sunday. Come and see the Friend of sinners. Come and discover the wisdom of God that cannot be overturned.
You are loved and prayed for!
Michael Gossett