DAY 30 – ATTEND (OR PLAN) A GATHERING OF ENCOURAGEMENT

THEME: FAITH IN COMMUNITY

FOCUS: SPIRITUAL CONNECTION, MUTUAL ENCOURAGEMENT, AND SHARED JOY

PRACTICE:

Today, seek out or intentionally plan a small gathering rooted in encouragement. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Maybe it’s coffee with a friend, a walk with someone from your church, a spontaneous picnic, or inviting a few people to your home or local park.

If time is tight, start by texting someone to set up a time later in the week.

The goal isn’t just to socialize—it’s to hold space for goodness. Ask open questions. Share stories of grace. Pray together if it feels right. Laugh. Listen. Speak life into each other. Let it be a reminder that we aren’t meant to walk alone.

REFLECTION:

Encouragement is a spiritual gift we often underestimate. We associate it with cheerleading or surface-level compliments, but in its truest form, encouragement is soul-deep—it is about reminding each other of who we are and whose we are.

Jesus gathered often—around tables, in homes, along roadsides. His ministry was woven into community rhythms. He uplifted, listened, challenged, and comforted. We’re invited into that same kind of life.

Who encourages your faith? Who helps you feel like your truest self? And how might God be calling you to be that person for someone else?

Gatherings of encouragement are not just fellowship—they are sacred intersections where presence becomes healing and where laughter and honesty become liturgy.

SCRIPTURE:

“Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NRSV)

Paul’s words are both a commendation and a command: keep doing what matters—showing up for one another, building each other up in love. Even the smallest encouragement can echo loudly in someone’s heart long after it’s spoken.

PRAYER:

God of community,

Thank You for the people who lift me up.

Show me how to be a source of encouragement to others.

Give me courage to gather, to invite, and to share honestly.

Bless the conversations, the quiet moments, and the laughter that binds us.

Let our presence with one another reflect Your presence with us.

Amen.