Object of Thankfulness

I was thinking about how Paul addresses churches in his letters and how he often told them that he was thankful for them and praying for them. So, I thought it might be interesting to see why he was thankful as a way of identifying what we might desire for our local body of believers.

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For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

Ephesians 1


I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1


We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—

Colossians 1


We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1


And one "negative" example:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all.

Galatians 1


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Not an exhaustive list .. I didn't look at every letter from Paul .. but it looks like there are some common factors here: faith in the Lord Jesus and love for the saints. Is this the criteria that most use in identifying a body to be associated with? I'm not sure, but I think this is what I'd want Paul to say about our church.