Spiritual Journeys
Spiritual Journey / Why I Joined
I am grateful. To God. Every day. He made it clear one morning 19 years ago: stop drinking immediately or lose — everything. Following Him, it has been possible to stay sober. He has encouraged me through losses and sadness, and provided sweet blessings of family and friends. And this church is one of those blessings. One of those dear friends invited our family to Community Church when our son was in kindergarten. He’s a teen now, and we’ve grown up here, literally and spiritually. Great teaching -- of a God of amazing love and grace who can use hearts and minds to His good purpose. This faith family is real. Caring. Sincere. Praying. Respectful. Thinking. And faithful. This feels like home. I am grateful.
Vicki Ronaldson
My Journey To This Church
My husband and I had been to several churches looking for a place to call home. At that time we were engaged and also looking for a church to get married in. We started coming and right from the beginning we felt there could be more than just getting married in this beautiful church. Well, 12 years later we have been a part of many different aspects of this faith community. In the earlier days we loved being a part of the pre-married ministry program. As the years have passed and our family has grown, we both have worked with the youth of this church in many different aspects. I feel so blessed to be a part of this faith family and to be walking the path with so many close friends. I am grateful for their love and support.
Denise O’Neill
This Church Has Been A Blessing
I’m 24 years old. I’ve never been married, had a child, lost a parent, fought cancer or addiction. These seem to be some of the church’s greatest draws, but I’d always been a superficial believer. My doubts about God have never lasted more than a few weeks, but not until this church have I truly pursued a real and dynamic relationship with God. Being a graduate student in Engineering, the majority of my peers haven’t thought about God in the last 10 years any more than I’ve thought about joining the circus, so this church has been a real blessing - an oasis that I seem to visit with increasing frequency. Trying my first Bible study and small group retreats has been very rewarding, but not as rewarding as the more individual conversation and personal growth that this faith family encourages and emphasizes. For the first eighteen years of my life, I attended the church in which I was baptized at six months old and I’ve bounced around a few churches across the country over the past six years. I’m very lucky to have found this church and this faith community - the most enriching, most passionate, and more real pursuit of Christ that I’ve found.
Ben Langhorst
I Knew That I Believed in God ... but
For years, I was on a “spiritual hiatus”. I struggled for a long time with the concept of Church. The idea that we were “in” but everyone else who did not believe as we did was “out” really offended me. I knew that I believed in God, but I couldn’t swallow a lot of the doctrine that I was told was necessary to my being a Christian.
Many of the walls I built were still up when we began attending Community Church. But soon, I realized I was in a place where it was okay to have doubts. Even more surprising, I discovered that it was perfectly acceptable to have a different opinion. There would be no coercion, no strong-arming, and no judgment. Although our relationship with Jesus Christ is central to the theology of this church – it was always clear to me that He was here for me when I was ready to accept Him. What a concept!
My participation in a small group Bible Study is one of the highlights of my involvement in Community Church. I have been meeting weekly for 10 years with a dozen women who come from a variety of life experiences. Our desire as individuals is to become more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, and we have banded together to receive and offer support and encouragement along the way. I am comforted and inspired by their willingness to share their own struggles and victories.
The programs for children and youth have been a wonderful part of our children’s lives. Our daughters have built relationships with wonderful, caring adults and other young people. Their questions about faith have been honestly and sensitively responded to.
The worship, the study groups, the caring ministerial staff, the challenging and thoughtful teaching, and retreats have worked together to change my life. Because of my membership in this faith family, I am a better wife, mother, friend, community member and most importantly a more excited and engaged Christian. I can’t imagine being anywhere else!
Jan Shea
Why is this my church?
Well, these people are my people. They are headed in the same direction I’m trying to head. They are following the same path. MANY are way out ahead of me on the road. Yet, instead of being an esoteric beacon, each faith family member is a very real friend to me and my sons. It is my purpose to surround my boys with men and women of honor and integrity. Our faith family makes that a reality on a daily basis.
With so much gratitude,
Allison Carr
Why I'm at Community Church
I was an angry and cynical atheist. I believed I was too smart and too strong to need the God I didn’t believe in; I was angry with that same God I didn’t believe in for the circumstances of my childhood. Hmmmm…something didn’t quite add up. My fundamentalist mother finally “hit me” in my only soft spot: my love for my daughter. After some deep thought, I came to the realization that I actually believed that Jesus was the son of God. OH NO!!! Logically, that meant I must be a…Christian! But how to be a Christian without being one of “those” Christians?
The mother of one of my daughter’s classmates invited my daughter to LOGOs – the Wednesday evening family program. I let her come that Wednesday but needed to find out what this church taught before I’d let her get too involved. I came the next Sunday and, much to my surprise, heard a sermon that was obviously tailored just for my ears! I heard that my questions were valid – in fact, if I don’t have questions I’m not doing my job! I heard that being a Christian means that I’m not supposed to disrespect other faiths; I heard that God only wants me in the pew if I really want to be there. Hey! Where’s the coercion? Where’s the threat of hellfire and damnation? Who are all these nice people and where have they been all my life?
“Honey, I’m home.”
Susan Golian
What I Think, What I Understand, What I Know and What I Hope
What I think is that everyone needs a place where they can come to and feel they belong. Everyone needs a place they can come to and ask the questions that matter to them. Everyone needs a place they can come to where they can grow to understand their experience of God, individually and collectively. I think everyone needs friends to help them through life. And, I think everyone has a need to feel needed too. I think our church is my safe haven, my place to grow in my experience of God and my community of friends.
What I understand is that everyone has a path to follow in their life. That path is different for each of us, independent of each others; yet connected to each other’s too. I understand that I do not have all the answers to life’s questions. I do not even have the answers to my own son’s questions. I understand that each of us has their own questions. I understand that through this community some of my questions have been answered (more raised) and that I have been a part of answering someone else’s questions.
What I know is that God created the earth and sky and all we know (and cannot begin to know) and see and touch, smell and hear, dream and believe. I know this just by looking closely at a flower or feeling the last bit of sun on my face at sunset. I know He sent His son Jesus to teach me that He loves me and needs me and knows me. I know this because when I am in my quiet place Jesus comes to me and laughs with me about the things I worry about most. I also know this because He has sent friends to me when I am in need and put up obstacles when I have not been clear about which path I should take. I know Jesus died on the cross to take away the burdens humans put on themselves and to allow God to become real to me. I know this because I have become more and more aware of God’s gift of His son each day. I know that people who have not had this experience will not understand what I am talking about. I know that if you give Him a chance you will understand. I know it is difficult to wrap your logical mind around this mystery but also know that this community is here to help.
What I hope is that more and more people will have the courage to set aside their pride to ask the questions that matter to them, to rely on good friends for answers, to be more open to the wonders of God and to become quiet, honest and personal in their relationship with Christ.
I hope our Church can be the conduit for all that I think, understand, know, and hope just for one more person.
Leslie Kazarian
What Denomination?
12 years ago I told a co-worker that I was joining a church. She asked me what denomination. I said that I really did not know - that it did not matter. I just knew that it was where I was supposed to be. She could not believe that I did not know the religious doctrines that my church followed. I guess she was right on many levels but what I did know, on an instinctive level, was that there was caring here, caring for the members of the Church and I wanted to be part of that.
I got here through my husband. He thought that it was important to find a church for our children. He was brought up Catholic. I was brought up Atheist-no religious background-nothing to muck it up and but no stories or history either. What I found was more than I could ever have imagined on my own. Through the faith, love and the caring of this Church I have grown and done things that I could never have done on my own.
Cindy Dupuie
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