Koinonia is a bit of a buzzword. A lot of churches use it as a catchy name for an organization or a certain way of thinking about a church activity. It is not just because it is trendy to integrate Greek into programs. It is such a helpful word that captures much more than any English word might in translation. It means the common life of people, fellowship, cooperation, and sharing. It is bigger than a simple sharing of interests or affiliation. Koinonia is like building a brand new transcontinental railway. The people swinging the hammers in unison, harmonizing in labor songs, supping together after a day’s work, and sharing a tent for slumber.¹
Salem Presbyterian has an interesting history. We began as the 5 pm service of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, but this service was not a repeat of the morning gatherings. It flourished into its own cultural community, even a few years before we began meeting in West Salem. Now we are our own church, with a unique geographic footprint, and while our history roots our identity, in many ways we are searching for some markers to define our present and future.
That is why it says “est. 2013” on our bulletins. While we have bonds which run deep through Redeemer Presbyterian Church and our years as a site with the Redeemer Church Network, we ventured out on our own in 2013. There are perhaps two crucial ingredients that produced the church that is Salem Presbyterian Church – est. 2013. The first was the support and roots we have at Redeemer. Those are gone, but not forgotten — the way a person’s identity is forged in their childhood home, but with the reality that in adulthood it becomes one’s own responsibility to steward and cultivate that personhood. The other was what might be called “Friday Night Leadership.”
“Leadership” was the essence of koinonia. Before we had elders, servant leaders, a senior pastor, Google Docs, a church retreat, there was just a tall Associate Pastor named Ben and a crew of Christians interested in praying and taking on the work of the church. As the systems of our church became formalized it was difficult to figure out what to do with “Leadership” and attendance dwindled. It seemed there were now elders, servant leaders, staff, and of course Google docs capable of supporting the structure of the church. It was collateral damage in our maturation, but it might be for the better that we took a break from “Leadership” so as to learn how vital it was to healthy church.
Taking time to raise up leaders in shepherding and mercy ministry was really helpful for Salem Presbyterian Church. But it is apparent that we still need everybody to pray and work together — all of us! The common life of the church means coming together without too much official business to just worship God and bind together to make his body closer and more hospitable. Somewhere between our large worship gathering and our small group discipleship gatherings in homes, there needs to be a space where we get work done and leave space for informal prayer. “Leadership” might give the impression that certain leader qualifications might be necessary to participate. Of course back in the day, “Leadership” was the church’s leadership, but now we have official leaders. What we need to safeguard and recapture is the normal, everyday, knit together quality of laying track together, supping together, and resting together. That is why we are bringing koinonia into the mix.
We will gather quarterly to sing songs, pray, and divvy up little tasks giving every person in the church access to a little ownership on the work of Christ’s Kingdom in our little city of Winston-Salem. Each quarter we will focus on one facet of our threefold mission of Worship/Community/Outreach. Our first gathering will be focused on “community”, specifically our small groups and our late summer church retreat.
¹I do not mean to romanticize a history so rife with cultural violence and slavery, it is simply an effective metaphor.