My colleague Paul Carter says: “Faithfulness is a team sport.”*

That’s an important reminder, especially for Christians in the modern west. Our society is highly individualistic. We can get sucked into the thinking that faith is only about “me and Jesus.”

Don’t get me wrong. It is definitely about you and Jesus. But it is also more than that. We are a part of the body of Christ. We serve alongside others. We pray together. We learn and worship together.

We also encourage one another. This is a part of what it means to be on a team.

Consider Hebrews 10:24-25. The author writes: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” 

Let’s note a few things. 

First, people were neglecting to meet together as Christians. It seems this was a problem in the first century as well. Gathering as believers matters.

Second, one of the reasons we gather is specifically to encourage one another! 

Your encouragement might give someone the confidence to keep going. It might be the only positive thing they hear all month. It might be the literal answer to a prayer. It might be a God-ordained prompt to keep serving for the kingdom. It might be an act of love that brings a critical kind of healing into someone’s life. You just don’t know.  

Brothers and sisters, faithfulness is a team sport. Let’s encourage our other teammates as we follow Christ together.

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Notes:

-“Encouragement in the Valley.” Click here. Sermon.

-*Paul Carter on the “Into The Word” Podcast. 2 John. March 12, 2018.

-The Up Daily Devotional will be going on pause next week while I engage in a week of study and prayer. It returns on November 24, 2025.

-Bible quotes are from the ESV.