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This year, our Board Members are sharing a devotion at the beginning of each board meeting based on our five Saints Values: Faithfulness, Excellence, Stewardship, Service, and Community, which are listed in the document link above if you’re interested in reading each value. While above I mentioned that our students need to engage and be an active part of their high school community, it is also important that our Saints Family reflect on and aspire to live out our written values. I believe community is especially important now more than ever.
Belonging has been a long-known and closely studied attribute in psychology since its inception. Baumeister & Leary (1995) believe the need to belong is fundamental to human motivation. Maslow placed belonging in the middle of his famous Hierarchy of Needs, identifying belongingness and love as vital psychological needs (1943). Freud theorized that humans have an innate need for attachment and connection from infancy, as they bond with their mother. And one of my favorites, by renowned developmental psychologist Uri Bronfenbrenner, emphasized that every child needs someone who is “crazy about them,” defining “crazy about them” as unconditional love and emotional connection as a foundation for resilience.
Belonging is part of the Christian picture of the church. Paul describes believers as different parts of one body: not identical, but each needed. A community of faith is meant to make room for different gifts, personalities, backgrounds, and stories. Christian belonging isn’t just a feeling; it shows up in practical care and observable shared life.
Belonging is more than just showing up. A student can attend every event and still feel like an outsider, according to research from Springtide Research Institute. They describe 55% of young people surveyed said they would not remain engaged in an organization if they consistently felt like an outsider. Small things, such as being noticed, invited into conversation, and listened to, can matter according to the institute (springtideresearch.org).
Christ himself models belonging and making others know that they are welcome. In the Gospels, Jesus notices people whom others overlook and makes space for them. The Christian community should reflect that care not just toward close friends but also toward newcomers and people on the edges. Consider Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10), the crowd despises Zacchaeus, but Jesus notices him, calls him by name, and chooses to share a meal at his home. Jesus’ welcome leads Zacchaeus to change how he lives. Being seen and welcomed can open the door to transformation. Or what about Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4:1–42), when Jesus speaks with a woman separated from Him by social and ethnic divisions and by her behavior? He listens and speaks with her honestly; she then brings others to meet him. Jesus crosses dividing lines, and someone who may have felt excluded can become an important voice in the community, like the woman from Samaria.
Why is belonging so important now? I believe we have a generation of our students who have sojourned through the COVID-19 pandemic, have formed “parasocial relationships,” and are left feeling alone. If you aren’t familiar with a parasocial relationship, it is described as a one-sided, psychological connection where a person invests emotional energy, time, and attention into a media figure, such as a celebrity, influencer, fictional character, or AI chatbot, who remains unaware of their existence. This term isn’t a newly coined term hailing from the COVID-19 pandemic. No, in fact, it has been around since the 50s. It was coined by psychologists Horton and Wohl (1956), who originally defined parasocial interaction to describe the "illusion of intimacy" TV and radio audiences felt toward on-screen and on-air performers.
These parasocial relationships are non-reciprocal; when a person believes they know the person and have formed a relationship, while the persona/influencer doesn’t actually know the fan at all. The interaction (like viewing a vlogger on Instagram or TikTok) is brief and momentary. Still, the parasocial relationship persists in thoughts and feelings long after, leading to a desire for more connectivity through screen time. Some of the problems related to this include addiction to screentime. The relationships formed aren't real and can lead to a lack of practice in forming real, live relationships. It’s not surprising that psychology is divided on this subject. According to a Psychology Today article from July 2026, parasocial relationships are common and typically harmless, helping people feel less lonely. Additional research is needed. As you look around and observe our youth today, I’ll let you decide for yourself.
In the life of a Christian, belonging comes with responsibility, Saints. Romans 12 doesn’t only say, “I belong.” It says we belong to one another. We can help create that belonging by learning names, inviting someone to sit with us, listening without rushing to fix things, and including people in shared activities. Our deepest belonging is always in Christ. Friendships and school communities matter, but they can shift and change. Belonging doesn’t mean everyone must be best friends or agree about everything. It means treating one another with dignity, care, respect, and welcome as people made valuable by God. Our Christian hope is that our worth and welcome begin with God’s love given in Christ, and not with popularity, performance, or fitting in. Amen!
Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for welcoming us into your family. Help us see people who feel left out, listen with care, and use our words and actions to make room for others. Teach us to belong to one another as members of your body. Amen.
In Christ’s love and mine,
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