As brothers and sisters in Christ, believers come together as a church family to challenge and encourage one another, worship together and join together to do God’s will, reaching out to others who don’t know Jesus. I have read all of these things in the Bible, but my true understanding of these tenets has come from living out my faith with my local church family.
Maple Ridge Community Church is small, maybe 120 people or so. I have attended this church all my life; and for much of my childhood, we have moved from location to location, meeting in basements, schools and community centers. Although some people might claim I missed out on the opportunities afforded by a larger church, I have learned the true church is not an elegant building but all people who house Jesus in their hearts. God has used the people of Maple Ridge to teach me about my life as a Christian, the purpose of the church and His own Spirit. Looking back at my life, I know without a doubt I would be a startlingly different person if I had not been a part of my church family. The brothers and sisters I meet with each week have been such examples to me, and, by loving God with their lives, have opened my eyes to who He is and what his church is meant to be.
When I was in junior high school, my pastor’s wife, Mrs. Bush, started a Bible study for teen girls at Maple Ridge. Meeting with seven girls once a week, I learned about true friendship and tough love. As we learned about the Bible we also learned true sisters in Christ need to share their hearts with one another. I vividly remember one of my friends breaking down in tears as she revealed the hurt she experienced in her relationship with her father. Because we were realizing for the first time how sincere and deep fellowship in Christ was meant to be, we struggled with the words to comfort her and to help her know she was loved. Not all lessons came in times of tears, however; in times of laughter, I found members of the church draw joy from one another, just as God finds joy in His children. Indeed, nothing gives God more joy than communing with His church.
My church youth group leaders have had a profound impact on my life. Although my youth pastor, Todd, is a quiet and introverted man, he consistently has shown me a good leader cares about his followers. Our youth group served on a short-term mission trip to Matamoros, Mexico, last summer. For the first three days, my entire youth group had disappointing difficulty in connecting with God. None of us could feel His Spirit or hear His voice. Finally, Todd gathered our youth group together in a circle and shared that he, too, was having difficulty finding God amid our sparse and distressing surroundings. Then he stood up and walked around the circle, praying for each of us one by one. More than anything he has ever done, that showed me Todd’s love for us and made me trust him as a leader. I saw God’s love for his church mirrored in Todd’s love for us.
Jen, my youth group leader, and Mrs. Bush both have been incredible mentors by taking stock in my life and in my growth as a Christian. They have shown God’s love to me by listening to my every problem and question without judgment and offering their best advice or, when I needed it, a hug for encouragement. Without their affirmation, I would not have the confidence I have today; and I would not understand my identity in Christ’s nearly as well as I do.
One beautiful thing about the church as a family is that I draw encouragement from everybody, not just my youth group. There are so many Sunday mornings when I walk into the sanctuary and my heart jumps for joy at the sight of everyone walking around and greeting each other, chatting about life and God and everything in between. We have developed into a tight-knit community by worshiping God together and hearing the truth proclaimed by our pastor and teachers. The fellowship among people at Maple Ridge has taught me about the community that believers are meant to have. We are meant to build each other up in Christ by meeting each others’ needs, but also by sharing in each others’ lives. As one woman described the church to me, echoing
The individual members of my church family have taught me life lessons, as well. One of my dearest friends from Bible study was killed by a drunk driver just as I was entering high school. Since then, her mother, Mrs. Hockerman, has been a brilliant inspiration. Through watching her hold fast to Christ even in her unthinkable pain, I have seen God never will let me go but will hold me up through every challenge to my faith. I am motivated to stay strong through every storm in life because I know God has a plan for me in every circumstance—just as he had a plan for Mrs. Hockerman.
My friend Margie, almost 80 years old, is a beautiful woman of God. When I was in elementary school, she began praying for me and mentoring me through letters of encouragement and Scripture. Her years have given her incredible wisdom, and I have been blessed to receive her insight. Her unflagging trust in God and her willingness to go wherever He sends her (including several decades, and counting, in Morocco) have shown me what it means to have the faith of a child at every stage of life. When I look at her life, I more clearly see God’s faithfulness to His church; He has led her through difficult circumstances in unfamiliar places, and I know He will guide the church as a whole in the same way.
My mother and father are far more to me than simply parents because they also are active members of my church family. During times when I questioned my faith, my father was there to give me support and guide me in my search for truth. Even more, on days when I didn’t feel worthy to be a child of God, my mother spoke to me the truth about God’s amazing grace and compassion. Both of them have been Jesus’ hands to me by supporting me and loving me no matter how many times I disobeyed them or made mistakes.
In experiencing God working through my church family to touch me, I have been motivated to let God use me to touch other people. Receiving encouraging notes from my brothers and sisters in Christ has pushed me to reach out to my friends in the same way, whether they are Christians or not. I believe I have shown God’s heart to many of my non-Christian friends by speaking truth to them and encouraging them through His Word.
My church is part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and through that affiliation God has shown me a church is not just a local body, but a worldwide family of believers. I have been able to meet with and hear stories of missionaries from vastly different parts of the world—Russia, Spain, Indonesia, Germany, and Africa. Beyond that, I have participated in a short-term mission trip every year of high school. Through these trips, God has taught me the importance of service and the joy of hearing His voice. These trips, as well as a conference my youth group attended last year, helped me decide I want to go on to the mission field full-time after college. My youth pastor, Todd, is leaving this summer to begin a long-term ministry in Bosnia. His heart for missions also has been integral in my desire to reach the world for Christ. Thus, God revealed His plans for my future through my church body and its commitment to international missions.
What always has made Maple Ridge a wonderful church family is the fellowship we have based on our common love for God. My church’s vision reads: “To be a community of believers through which Jesus Christ reveals Himself—locally, nationally, and internationally—by transforming people’s lives, equipping them for life, leadership and service, and reviving His Church.” Whenever I look around at the different faces of my church family, I see a vibrant showcase of varying personalities, lifestyles and spiritual gifts. However, our differences only make God’s handiwork more prominent among us as He weaves us and our gifts together to form a more complete image of Himself for the rest of the world to see.
