Why Christian Friendships Matter

Posted by: Megan Sweitzer, Social Media and Podcast Assistant | Monday, October 19th, 2026 ( 8:44am)

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.—Mark 5:19-20

Do you have people in your life who really know you? Not just like friends who know your favorite coffee place and your kids’ names but who really know your story? Your history? The ways God has changed your life?

I’ve come to learn how important this is.

I recently went on a women’s retreat and had the opportunity to deepen friendships with some women in my life. The goal of the weekend was simple: hear stories of how God has transformed lives…and have fun!

I sat all weekend listening to women in all different stages of life share about the beauty of their families, their relationship to the church, and their legacy. But I also heard stories of redemption and restoration in big and small ways. Stories of women whose lives aren’t tied up nice with a bow, but women who are broken and desperate for a Savior. Women who have walked through dark seasons of infertility, anxiety, same sex attraction, health crises, pornography, fear, insecurity, shame, broken relationships, guilt…the list goes on. Over and over again, I heard how much others need a God who is bigger than their problems and bigger than their sins.

Now, I didn’t want to go on this retreat. I signed up for it in one extroverted moment and once the weekend arrived, every fear and anxiety in my brain was telling me not to go. Lies and excuses began to creep in; that I could spend my time doing other things around the house, that this season has been busy and I don’t really have the bandwidth, that I’ve only known these women for a year and they don’t care to know my story. Fortunately for me, I have a husband who in the nicest way possible pushed me out the door to get going. But maybe he could see something I couldn’t: the power in friendships and in sharing what the Lord has done in our lives.

We see this in Mark 5. After Jesus heals a demon-possessed man, He tells him to go proclaim how much Jesus had done for him. I love this because after he was healed, the man begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Essentially, He told him to share this good news! Don’t hide it or keep your story to yourself, even if it’s ugly, testify to the Lord’s work!

Friendships take intention and effort. They can be difficult, messy, and sometimes painful. To pursue other people when the enemy is doing everything he can to stop you from being honest, vulnerable, real, and authentic is just plain hard. But when you can really understand and know others’ hearts, you are getting to see the image of God on display. When you sit with a friend and hear how the Gospel has transformed their life, changed their marriage, redeemed their identity—there is so much power in living in that light, proclaiming what the Lord has done and marveling in the work of His hands.

We do really need each other to spur each other on in faith, to build each other up, to encourage one another. We weren’t meant to do this life alone, and that’s been a call for our lives since Adam and Eve in Genesis 2. We need the body of Christ with all our strengths and weaknesses to push each other to the cross. We need to sharpen each other as we walk after Jesus. This is what we were made for.

Do you have people you’re walking with? Doing life with? Who knows what God is teaching you? Refining in you? The ways He’s changed you? If you do, marvel at God’s work together. If not, find those people, even if it’s just one, who you can share the goodness of God with this week.