I was going to begin this whole thing with “A little over a month ago some things began to come together…” but then I sat here and thought about it and that’s not accurate. And so, GOOD NEWS, you’re about to get a long story.
P and I have attended the same church since Caroline was less than a year old. And it was a church we’d had ties to long before that. It was a great place for us for all those years. We were involved with different ministry groups, learned so much from our pastor’s teaching, made new friends, and there was a time when I couldn’t imagine we’d ever leave to go anywhere else.
But then early last summer something began to shift. At first I thought it was just me until P and I talked about it one night and realized we were both feeling the same things. I can’t even tell you what the exact feeling was other than just a little bit of restlessness regarding church that we hadn’t experienced in a long time. So we began to pray about it and just agreed to see what happened next. And what happened was Caroline moved up to the Junior High Youth Group and began to enjoy church more than she ever had during the days of elementary Sunday School. We agreed that was the most important thing and decided it meant we should stay put.
Then about two weeks after that, the youth director sent out an email informing parents that the Youth Group would no longer meet on Sunday mornings and instead would just meet on Wednesday nights. And here’s the thing, that schedule just wasn’t going to work for us since the church is about a thirty minute drive from our house on a Sunday morning and takes even longer when you factor in weekday traffic. Plus, Caroline admitted she never really got to know the other kids because none of them are from our neighborhood or attend her school and what she really wanted was to go to church closer to home.
I remember one time I heard Priscilla Shirer tell how a mother eagle begins to shake her nest when it’s time for her babies to start flying and that’s what all of this was as I look back on it. Our familiar little nest was being shaken because God was calling us out of our comfort zone.
As we talked as a family one night over dinner early last fall, what became clear was that we all had a heart to attend church in our neighborhood, with the people we go to school with and grocery shop with and see every day. Even though we live in San Antonio, our little area feels much more like a small town and we had no doubt God was calling us to be a part of something right here and not thirty minutes away, especially as we have watched so many of the kids that used to be in our Campus Life group move back to our neighborhood to raise their families. Our hearts were increasingly drawn close to home. The problem was we weren’t sure there was a church that would be the right fit for us. Then one night that I’ll never forget, Caroline declared, “Maybe we should start a church!”
I did the mom equivalent of patting her on the head and saying, “Aw what a sweet kid!” while everything inside me was thinking, “PLEASE GOD DON’T MAKE US START A CHURCH! I DON’T WANT TO START A CHURCH!” And I knew P was thinking the exact same thing by the way he looked at me across the table.
But it was one of those things – you know those things – that just burned a hole in my heart and I knew – I KNEW – even though I ignored it, that there was something to it. Out of the mouths of babes and all that.
So instead we spent about six months visiting different churches in our neighborhood and I want you to know this – there are good churches here but none of them seemed right for us. The majority of them are very traditional and we just aren’t traditional church people. And here’s what I know for sure, church preference is such a personal decision. I mean, Gulley and I have never gone to the same church…that’s how personal and unique it is to each person. I don’t see the fact that we didn’t find the right church to be a reflection at all on any of the churches in this neighborhood as much as believing that God wanted to create a new, different space.
Which leads me to the last month.
Right after Easter (if you’re paying attention this was the exact same time I was releasing Nobody’s Cuter Than You which is proof God has a sense of humor because I have been on an adrenaline high for a month now due to all these converging things) P and I began to watch all these pieces fall into place. Pieces that we’d always sited as the reason we would never start a church because where would we find a good worship leader? Where would we meet? What about the fact that neither of us want ministry to be our full-time job? Would anyone even want to come to a new church? All those things just seemed insurmountable.
And I realize now that sounds ridiculous because, well, GOD. It turns out that when he says in Ephesians 3:20 that He will do more than you could ask or imagine, He means it. That’s why it’s more than you can imagine.
Because you can’t imagine it.
Our friends August and John Joffe were feeling called to something new and are going to lead worship for us. A church right down the street from our house and smack dab in the heart of our neighborhood has graciously offered us some unused space to meet at 9:30 on Sunday mornings. P was in full time ministry during the first years of our marriage and is a great teacher. I also happen to be able to teach a Bible lesson from time to time, along with a couple of other people who want to be a part of this and we’ve already heard from several others who are excited about what we are doing and want to be a part.
And so what are we doing?
Well, the good news is God heard my prayers and we are not starting a church. We are starting a Community Worship Service. None of the people involved in its creation are looking at this as a vocation, but rather an organic gathering of people who want to come together for worship and teaching with their families each Sunday morning right in our neighborhood. Kind of like the first churches in Acts, we want it to be about the people and not the place.
I’ve felt so strongly over the last year God saying to me that the way to change your world is to start in your own community, invest in the lives of the people around you.
And so beginning Sunday, May 31st we are starting a Community Worship Service from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall at Alamo Heights Baptist Church. It’s going to be a family service and everyone is welcome.
We would love your prayers as we begin this new chapter and, if you’re in the area and want to come join us, we would love to have you.