Length: 20-30 mins

Learn the dimensions of belonging and pray for your community to experience them.

Link to printable version coming soon

A Community of Belonging as Service

As humans, we crave being known, welcomed, and loved. When a community values every person’s human dignity, we become a community of belonging. This is a community where anyone and everyone has a place as the table. We believe that each person is an image bearer of God, a reflection of Jesus in creation; there is inherent value and dignity in each person. But there are many ways our shared human dignity can be broken by the actions of individuals or the functioning of communities and systems. One of these dehumanizing experiences is the experience of exclusion, loneliness, and marginalization.

Creating communities of belonging serves people, because we have all had those experiences we just described. A community of belonging can begin to redeem those experiences, because it does not allow anyone to be pushed to the margin, or for anyone to lay claim to the center because Jesus is at the center inviting everyone in. Being a part of a community of belonging can serve many of our deep human needs.


Ten Dimensions of Belonging

There are ten dimensions that need to be experienced for a person to really belong. These dimensions build upon each other towards the experience of being loved.

Let’s take some time to pray through the ten dimensions of belonging together, asking that Jesus would give us the experience of each dimension with him, and that he could equip us to give that experience to people around us.

Spend one or two minutes in prayer for each dimension. Read the first dimension and the sentence following it. Before you move on to the next dimension, leave a short moment for the group to respond in prayer, either silently or, if they desire, out loud. Repeat this process until all dimensions have been prayed for, and close by saying ‘Amen’.

1) Present - Invite Jesus to be present with you, and recognize that he is present

2) Noticed - Ask that Jesus notice your current situation and feelings, and recognize that he does notice

3) Welcomed - Picture Jesus welcoming you and beckoning you in, and recognize that he is welcoming you

4) Cared For - Ask that Jesus care for you in your current experience, and recognize that he does really care for you

5) Supported - Invite Jesus to support you moment to moment and into the next day and week, and recognize that he will support you

6) Accepted - Ask Jesus to accept you as you are, no matter how you feel about yourself, and recognize that Jesus accepts you

7) Known - Invite Jesus to know you deeply, and recognize that Jesus knows you wholly

8) Befriended - Ask Jesus to be your friend, and recognize that Jesus is always inviting you into friendship with him

9) Wanted - Ask Jesus to show you the specific good works he is inviting you into, and recognize that his grace is sufficient to save you and that he desires you to be with him.

10) Loved - Ask Jesus if he loves you and how he loves you, and recognize that Jesus loves you fully and unconditionally.


Reflect

  • How did you feel in this time of prayer?

  • Are there ways that you long for your community to be a place of belonging more effectively? How does the Spirit invite you to be part of this growth?

  • What feels significant to notice or continue to practice?