Geographical Proximity Matters

Geographical proximity matters when it comes to community. The closer you live to those you are doing life with the more effective your life together will be. I discovered this for the first time a few years back while I was leading a community group just outside of Chicago. Within our group we had a couple that lived about 30 minutes South of our meeting location and another couple that lived about 30 minutes North of our meeting location. This had a limiting effect on the frequency of our gatherings and any kind of spontaneity associated with them (two variables to be considered at a later point in time). On the opposite end of the spectrum, I know of one pastor I greatly respect that takes community so seriously that he and his entire small group has moved onto the same block to do life together and maximize their collective impact on those in their neighborhood. Geographical proximity matters.