The Power of Community

I watched keenly as a group of men helped to carry a visitor in a wheelchair up (and eventually back down) a set of uneven stairs during a community event. None of the organizers had realized that accessibility might be an issue, thinking that our hosts would assign us a first-floor venue. Once the realization dawned that we had this venue challenge, the men leaped to the aid of other attendees needing assistance, with the large wheelchair being only the first identified.

I marveled at their response, observing a sense of connection in faith that was intensified by the power of the Holy Spirit moving through those who surrendered to God at that moment. Of course, my mind went to the story in Mark 2:1-12 of the friends who lowered their neighbor through the roof of a person’s home with the sole focus of getting him before Jesus. When Jesus sees the faith of the four friends, he forgives and then physically heals the man placed before him. It is an interesting plot twist. It is the friends’ collective faith in action, not the paralyzed man’s faith, that results in the miracle.

In Hong Kong, our International Emmaus community is a truly ecumenical expression of Christian community, where members who join in our Fourth Day retreats come from multiple Christian denominations and backgrounds. As a community, we learn about one another’s cultures and denominational beliefs and, together, explore our journeys with Christ as one body. Like the four men who lowered their friend through a roof to meet Jesus, the Hong Kong Emmaus community looks to Jesus as our Lord and Redeemer. With this as our primary focus, we can learn new facets of our Christian faith from the diversity of our backgrounds and experiences, and we can grow in our love for God and for each other across denominations and cultures. We pray as a community that — with each person we invite on a retreat weekend — God will enrich our collective call to serve the equally diverse city we call home. Even as we face challenges and questions from the world, as members of this one body, we can stand firm in the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 4:12:

“Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

As I send these greetings from the Hong Kong International Emmaus community, we encourage you to stand firm with God and with each other. In your stance, may you experience assurance, encouragement, and complete peace within, knowing that your circumstances will not break you. God will restore and use you to build God’s kingdom here on earth by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through you.

To God be the Glory. Amen!

Terri Appel has been the Lay Director for the Hong Kong Emmaus Community for about 7 years. She and her husband, Nick, arrived in Hong Kong in 1997 and attended their first walks in 2002. Terri will be one of the featured speakers at the Emmaus Ministries International Virtual Gathering on April 25, 2025. Learn more and register here. →

Journal Prompts

When have you witnessed faith in action through community? 

How can your community reflect the diversity of God’s people more deeply? 

In what ways are you being asked to stand firm and help someone else do the same? 

Share your responses with others in the comments below!