H7 Story: Growth in Community
FCC member, Jess Broeske recently wrote a post on Facebook that spoke volumes about the importance of community in the lives of Christians. At FCC, we continually speak about the importance of people in your lives to speak truth and stand alongside you on your faith walk. Especially with the size of our church, just showing up on Sunday isn’t enough. We need to make sure we have the people around us to keep us going between the Sunday services.
Jess has given us permission to use her post to show how amazing (and healthy!) community can be!
"For the new year I had some goals, as many of us do. However, I really set some high goals for myself, one of which was to join a life group. Well instead of just joining one, I joined two. To say that I am excited is an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, I was hesitant at first. I started introducing myself as an introvert. While that has been true for the longest time, I can now proudly say that, that is the “old Jess”. “New Jess” is an extrovert who won’t stop talking to everyone! HAHA who would’ve thought, definitely not me! While I’ve only been a part of the one life group for a month and the other for three weeks (on Tuesday) it is with certainty that I will continue with them.
Something that has totally shocked me was that I offered to host the young lady’s group at my house. This may not seem like a big deal to some people but coming from someone who was terrified to even attend church up until August, this is a huge deal! That night when our leader told us that she couldn’t host I felt a prompt from the Holy Spirit that told me that I needed to host (Now keep in mind, I had just met these girls for the first-time the previous week). With that said, the friendships that I have already made from that group alone is incredible. Later that same week I attended Pillar (the second life group) for the first time. Instantly, I was met with smiling faces and warm welcomes. What little bit of nervousness that I had, instantly washed away from me. It was truly one of the best nights ever, I remember coming home with a giant smile on my face. When I left Pillar a thought crossed my mind, “Is this what it feels like to be on fire for Jesus?”
Guys, God is sooo good! Coming from a background where attending church was looked down upon and having dealt with church hurt just attending church alone was such a breakthrough for me. Never in a million years did I ever think that I would be where I am today. Heck, even last year if you would’ve told me that I joined a life group I would’ve laughed and rolled my eyes and said “Haha, yeah… right…” Joining these life groups has been absolutely incredible! However, this also made me realize that for the first time outside of school, I actually have a community. This has made all of the difference; I could just cry.
The amount of change and growth that I have experienced is wild to me. It is so much so that I know that it is solely God who allows us to change this drastically and for the better! I cannot wait to see how God continues to work in my life this year. What an honor and a privilege it is to be a part of this community. Happy tears friends, happy tears.
Jess has given us permission to use her post to show how amazing (and healthy!) community can be!
"For the new year I had some goals, as many of us do. However, I really set some high goals for myself, one of which was to join a life group. Well instead of just joining one, I joined two. To say that I am excited is an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, I was hesitant at first. I started introducing myself as an introvert. While that has been true for the longest time, I can now proudly say that, that is the “old Jess”. “New Jess” is an extrovert who won’t stop talking to everyone! HAHA who would’ve thought, definitely not me! While I’ve only been a part of the one life group for a month and the other for three weeks (on Tuesday) it is with certainty that I will continue with them.
Something that has totally shocked me was that I offered to host the young lady’s group at my house. This may not seem like a big deal to some people but coming from someone who was terrified to even attend church up until August, this is a huge deal! That night when our leader told us that she couldn’t host I felt a prompt from the Holy Spirit that told me that I needed to host (Now keep in mind, I had just met these girls for the first-time the previous week). With that said, the friendships that I have already made from that group alone is incredible. Later that same week I attended Pillar (the second life group) for the first time. Instantly, I was met with smiling faces and warm welcomes. What little bit of nervousness that I had, instantly washed away from me. It was truly one of the best nights ever, I remember coming home with a giant smile on my face. When I left Pillar a thought crossed my mind, “Is this what it feels like to be on fire for Jesus?”
Guys, God is sooo good! Coming from a background where attending church was looked down upon and having dealt with church hurt just attending church alone was such a breakthrough for me. Never in a million years did I ever think that I would be where I am today. Heck, even last year if you would’ve told me that I joined a life group I would’ve laughed and rolled my eyes and said “Haha, yeah… right…” Joining these life groups has been absolutely incredible! However, this also made me realize that for the first time outside of school, I actually have a community. This has made all of the difference; I could just cry.
The amount of change and growth that I have experienced is wild to me. It is so much so that I know that it is solely God who allows us to change this drastically and for the better! I cannot wait to see how God continues to work in my life this year. What an honor and a privilege it is to be a part of this community. Happy tears friends, happy tears.