Steven Goulstone is the pastor at Wellington South Baptist. This post is adapted from his recent sermon on 17 May 2026, and is the beginning of the “Redemptive Family” series. You can listen to it on our church podcast here.
When you visit a church for the first time, what do you expect? Perhaps you expect to sing a few songs, listen to a sermon, or participate in communion. Most of us enter a worship gathering with a mental checklist of “what we do” at church. But how often do we enter expecting to meet with family?
In the opening of our “Redemptive Family” series, we are challenged to move beyond the idea of church as a service we attend and toward the reality of church as a household where we belong. The New Testament is saturated with family language: brothers, sisters, children, and households. This isn’t just a metaphor; it’s the connective tissue of our faith.
In Ephesians 2, Paul tells us that we are no longer strangers or aliens but members of God’s household. This belonging isn’t based on our preferences or backgrounds. In fact, the early church was famously scandalous because it brought together people who traditionally wouldn’t even eat together. It is God’s reconciling work, not our own choosing, that defines who sits at the table.
The early believers in Acts 2 didn’t just attend meetings; they devoted themselves to one another. They shared meals, met needs with radical generosity, and lived with a simplicity and gladness that caused the world to take notice. They were captivated by God’s redemptive work, and it transformed how they viewed every person in their community.
As we journey together through this series, we are invited to reflect on the question of what kind of church is God calling us to be? The answer is a church that lives as a family: formed by God’s grace, open to the unexpected, and devoted to one another in practical, life-changing ways.
Reflect
If you truly viewed every person in our faith community as a beloved sibling, how would that change the way you show up this coming Sunday?