Do we understand community?

In a conversation with my buddy Jayson, we were discussing the nature of the body of Christ and our own place within that body. Now as most of you know I serve in a congregation that finds itself near a major university, a large law school, near a major hotbed of cyclical workers. So to summarize, our church here has a lot of people that are here for a short while transitioning to other places in this world. Most of these people fit into the missing demographic (18-30 years old) in churches so it is exciting that they find a home with us, however the question that Jayson and I were dealing with is, what happens when they move?

What happens that a person who was an active part of the community of faith here, leaves and suddenly becomes complacent with being outside of a body? What is the difference that stimulates other people to stay rooted in a community of faith, even when they leave here?

One of the things that we both pointed too was, our understanding of community. I think for some people the church is just like any other community. It is a place where they can find others to hang out with, share life with and feel a part of something. However, there is (or there should be) a great difference between the community of faith and any other community. The community of faith should be rooted up in Christ, in an active service to the world, in a living with both present and future hope, in finding strength, seeking to comfort others and giving of ourselves.

So let me ask, what effected you? Are you in that demographic? If you have moved have you found yourself located in another faith community following your move, or have you not been able to re-establish that sense of body life?