The way back to one another is through community.

On the morning of April 10, the Factory Ministries held its fourth annual Community Leadership Summit.

Business leaders, ministers and community members from Lancaster County and the surrounding areas gathered at the Factory, 3293 Lincoln Highway East, Paradise, for breakfast and discussion centered around the loneliness epidemic and how to build community in the modern age.

Phil Smith, senior development ambassador at HOPE International, gave remarks centered around his recently released book, titled "The Way Back to One Another," which he co-wrote with Jeff Galley and Jill Heisey.

Smith's book is a seven-chapter, 184-page piece published in March by InterVarsity Press that focuses on studying Scripture and forming deep relationships by undergoing a return to countercultural practices. Attendees at the summit were given a complimentary copy of the work.

Smith's remarks centered around what he calls a "loneliness epidemic," quoting statistics that 54% of Americans say that they are lonely at least once a week and that 15% say they are lonely all the time. The figures aren't better for those involved in the church.

"They're sobering statistics," he said. "Across the board, we live in a culture that is lonely. We're spending less time together ... we are spending half as many hours each week with family and friends than we were 12 years ago."

Smith addressed the need for community and how leaders could go about building it. Attendees participated in various small-group discussions, sharing anecdotes and relevant experiences.

"It's not good for you to be alone," he said. "Woven into our DNA is a need for relationship, a need for community, no matter how much we say, 'I don't need it.'"

Smith shared his experiences from living in six different countries across three continents, relating his constant movement to the need to build new relationships in new locations. Smith described his shift from the corporate, financial world to his current pastoral, nonprofit role.

He called on attendees to be intentional about leaning and depending on one another, asking them to build deep relationships with each other instead of bottling up their struggles and emotions, sharing statistics that most adult Americans claim not to have more than three close friends.

"Choose interdependence over independence," he said. "Our culture loves the idea of independence ... we really do need each other."

Smith's tact to approaching the issue is five-pronged: depending on one another, knowing each other, talking to each other, welcoming all and committing to building strong relationships.

Adam Nagle, who serves as the Factory's executive director, opened and closed Smith's remarks.

"We exist to empower people, connect to resources and build community," he said of the Factory. "Imagine a life where you don't have relationships, or those bridges have been burned ... building community is a key part of what we do."

The Factory Ministries holds programming with the goal of addressing poverty and empowering those who are affected by it in eastern Lancaster County and the surrounding areas. To learn more or get involved, call 717-687-9594 or email info@thefactoryministries.com.

HOPE International is a nonprofit based in Lancaster that deals with microfinance and providing Christ-centered financial services to underserved communities globally. To learn more, visit http://www.hopeinternational.org.