And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25

 

They’re called Belong Centers and they’re popping up in major cities and even refugee camps.

In a Meta-Gallup survey of people from 142 countries, more than half of respondents described feeling at least a little lonely. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they felt very or fairly lonely.[1] Enter a new invention called Belong Center a non-profit aimed at tackling loneliness. In Belong Centers, people sit together in a circle to engage in “active listening,” breathing deeply, swaying and meditating, with the purpose of “improving existing relationships and establishing new connections.” As organized religion has declined post-pandemic, one investor in Belong Center says that “The role of the church, or the community center, has not kept up with the times, and there’s a void.”[2]

Why are we so lonely?

God is a God of relationship. He created us to have relationship with Him and each other and made a way for us to come back to Him, through Jesus, even when we’ve rejected Him. Scripture says that God “sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:5a) and reminds those who follow Him, “you are members of God’s family” (Ephesians 2:19b). When we drop out of God’s family by not living in a community called Church, where we worship, do life together and support one another, we’re going to experience loneliness that God never intended for us. “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near,” scripture says (Hebrews 10:25).

Jesus follower, there’s a “Belong Center” for you, and it’s called Church.

[1] Lieber, Chavie. “The Loneliness Cure?” WSJ., Mar. 2024, pp. 84–85.

[2] Ibid.