When my family and I first attended Shoreline, like many, we were completely
overwhelmed. Coming from a church of mere hundreds, a church of thousands
intimidated us and caused us to feel like a mere number in a sea of people.
What we soon realized though, was that the deeper issue was not the size of the
church, but the size of US; internally that is.
Due to our own marital crisis, we had relocated from California just a month
earlier, and were forced to start life over in many ways. Left with nearly zero
relationships in tact, we were hungry for some form of love and Christian
communion. Upon visiting Shoreline a few times, we felt like we were just not
comfortable, whatever that really means. Looking back, we let our old way of
doing church, drive us away. What we were in fact in, was a paradigm shift,
which God was walking us through, step by step.
As we then hopped from church to church, looking for a place that felt like
a good fit and where God wanted us, we soon returned to Shoreline. This time
though, we realized God was pursuing us, and that Shoreline, was the place he
had directed us to.
Not long after this decision, my wife was invited to a home group by a
gentleman by the name of Alan. I was both hesitant and guarded at
first, wondering if this was just another thing to do in church life, that
would produce little fruit. Nevertheless, we decided to attend and give it a
shot.
Seldom times in my life have I been more blessed and rewarded and loved by
merely giving it a shot. That shot we took, has paid off in ways words can
barely describe.
When we arrived we felt more love and acceptance than we had felt in quite a
long time. Though on the outside we seemed quite confident and normal, behind
the scenes we were hurting and in need of some good, strong, Christian
community that was loving and supportive. Having said that though, I was
guarded but none of the members of the home group were. Quite the opposite
actually. We found it odd they wanted to talk to us, merely for the fact that
they were interested in our family as people. We felt as though we fit in
immediately, as all there was to fit into was a loving environment where people
felt encouraged and the true love of God.
As time continues to move on, these same acquaintances have become nothing
short of covenant relationships, and have been an immeasurable blessing to our
entire family. It has been in this same small group that we have come to truly
see the greatness of community and the true blessing Godly relationships can in
fact, be.
-Tony
Posted on
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
by members