Sometimes when talk of “community” circulates in Christian education settings it has few teeth. We use the word to refer to happy feelings experienced with others rather than a commitment to their wellbeing, and the rhetoric of community easily floats free from classroom practice. In this opening session, we will explore the challenges inherent in bringing commitment to community into the teaching and learning setting.  Drawing upon theology, research in schools, and the testimony of students, we will begin to explore how our teaching and learning practices can nurture or fracture community. The goal of this opening session will be to leave us with a framework of challenging but concrete questions that can provoke our thinking during the conference.