In the last year alone, God has made one thing clear to my husband and I, and that is: our first mission field is our home.
A few months back, my husband and I took a leap of faith that completely took me out of my comfort zone…and to be honest…I’m still trying to get used to the change.
In July of 2017, my husband and I resigned as the Youth Ministers at Crosswell First Baptist Church. I can honestly say it was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make. When my husband came to me with this decision, we prayed for months for direction and peace, but in the end, we both decided it was best for us to leave Crosswell and to focus on our first mission field, our home.
In 2013, God entrusted us with a precious little boy named Carson. A few years later in 2015, Asher was born. Both of our boys are healthy, happy, wild, and crazy. As our boys are getting older, we’ve realized more and more how important the home is. Our first mission field is our home and may we never forget that. Every day, we are to raise our children in a home that loves the Lord and desires to change this world with His message.
To the teenagers reading this blog, you may not understand this now, but one day you’ll realize how important the home truly is. For now, I ask that you pray for your home every day. Pray for your parents as they guide you in this world and your siblings (even if you don’t get along) that share your home with each day.
Crosswell will always be my family and even though we are no longer worshipping in the same building, we are still members of the same church.
These last few weeks, looking for a new church has made me realize one thing, the word “church” has lost its meaning. The “church” is not the building that you worship in each week, it’s the people of God.
YOU are the church! A while back I wrote these words, “
“It’s not about how you worship, It’s about Who you worship.”
In the last month, my family and I have had to take a step back and search for a new “home.” When I was born, my parents took me to Elljean Baptist Church where most of my family went. My great grandfather built the church and I loved growing up there with my family and friends. After a life detour without church, I met my now husband and we decided to go back to church. Without a thought in mind, we visited my home church, Elljean and his home church, New Beginnings, off and on for almost a year. In fact, when we first got married we were still going to “my church” On Sunday mornings and “his church” on Sunday evenings. It was a hard decision for us to make, but we eventually started going to Elljean full time. When Dustin was called into the ministry, we took a leap of faith and moved to Griffin Baptist Church where we worked with the Youth. About 2 years later, we moved to Crosswell First Baptist Church. Each step was paved by God Himself and clear as to where we needed to go.
As we walked out of Crosswell for our last service about a month ago, we realized that this was the first time we had no idea which direction to go. To be honest, there are churches on every corner in Pickens County and the decision on where to go can be overwhelming. I’ve never been without a church and I’ve never really had to look for one. There are HUGE churches with basketball courts and bowling alleys, tiny churches with less than 10 members, home churches where you meet in someone’s basement, biker churches, cowboy churches, loud churches, silent churches, churches with steeples, warehouse churches, country music churches, contemporary churches, traditional churches, pew jumping churches….and those are just a few of the many options out there. I’ve never been in the shoes of a “homeless” person but in that instance, I felt as though I was “homeless.” Homeless without a church.
Then God reminded me, YOU ARE THE CHURCH. The building you worship in is just a building… The way you worship, the clothes you wear, the “style” you consider your worship service…none of that matters if you are standing on the Word of God.
“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27
We’ve had hundreds of invites to different churches, but as a family we’ve realized that we don’t want to choose a church based on who goes there, we want to choose a church that we know God is directing us to. No matter where we go, we are still a member of the same church and the building we worship in is just a building.
It disturbs me to see the “rivalry” between tiny churches, big churches, contemporary churches, traditional churches, etc. It’s almost as though small churches get angry because the big churches are “taking” their members. Then big churches get ridiculed when they add on because they are outgrowing their walls. No one should ever be upset when another church grows. Instead, we should all rejoice and continue to pray for one another always. It’s time we, as a body of believers, stand up for who we are. It’s time we stand up for the church and start working together to glorify God and spread the good news to those who need it most.
No matter what church building you go to, always remember that we are all members of the same team. If we work together, we could change this world!
As a member of one team, the CHURCH, what will you do differently this school year to bring others closer to Christ? Will you recruit new team members or just sit on the bench?
My family and I are still visiting local churches and praying for God’s direction each step of the way, but we are certain that God has a plan for us. In the last few weeks alone, we have seen a change in our spirits and a renewal of our family. This journey has reminded me that sometimes God has to take you out into the wilderness, with nowhere to go, to show you exactly where you need to be.
Trust in Him always and He will show you the way!
May God Bless you and show you His Grace every day!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
This is worship…They are the church…be the church…
