For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

Matthew 18:20

My husband’s first pastoral call was to a three-car garage! Though, it did have a small kitchen and bathroom. On Confirmation Sundays, we opened the garage doors and set up chairs in the driveway! Yet it had all the qualities of a Christian community: God’s Word, the Sacraments, fellowship, and most importantly, the presence of Jesus.

All these years later, I’m grateful for the lesson that garage taught us: that the church isn’t measured by numbers but by the commitment that the members have to each other and to the Lord. They worship the omnipotent God, they celebrate with each other in times of joy, they embrace and stand by each other in times of suffering and grief, and they rejoice that God comes to them in Word and Sacraments … whether in an elementary school, a funeral home, or a three-car garage!

Linda Winterhoff
Williamsburg, VA

Omnipresent Lord, we thank You for the gift of Christian community You give us, wherever it is! Amen.

Reflect: What are you most thankful for in your Christian community?

Read: Colossians 3:16 and 1 Peter 4:10