St. Paul Fellowship

Who Is My Neighbor?

At St. Paul Fellowship we want to love our neighbor in any way we can. But who is our neighbor?

A man asked Jesus that question once. He knew he wasn't loving his neighbor as himself, and he was looking for a loophole. "Who is my neighbor?" he asked.

Jesus told him the story of the Good Samaritan. In this story the "religious" people ignore a man in desperate need, but a Samaritan (whom Jesus' audience would consider the lowest of the low) stops and helps the man at great cost to himself. Jesus said, "Who was a neighbor to this man?"

Jesus asks us to look around and consider, "Who is my neighbor?" Our neighbor is more than the person who lives next door. Our neighbor is the person God puts in our path. Our neighbor is the person we can reach out to. Our neighbor is the person God has uniquely called us to help.

At St. Paul Fellowship, we have many neighbors. We are called to reach out to the city of St. Paul, with a special emphasis on the Frogtown neighborhood. That doesn't mean every member of St. Paul Fellowship lives in the city. But it does mean that God has uniquely shaped us and called us to reach out to city dwellers in St. Paul.

One of the beautiful things about what God is doing at SPF is that we have a cross-section of the city worshiping with us. People of various ethnicities, incomes, family backgrounds, education levels, and ages come together to share what we have in common: a love for Jesus Christ and a love for one another.

But most importantly, you are our neighbor. No matter your situation in life, we are here for you. Please don't think you have to "have your act together" to join with us. We don't! We're all on this journey together, enjoying the unearned love and acceptance that Jesus bought for us at the cross.

Come ye weary, heavy laden, bruised and broken by the Fall
If you tarry 'til you're better, you will never come at all
Not the righteous, not the righteous - sinners Jesus came to call!