I love my church.
I love all the pastors and teaching pastors that have come and gone. I love the teaching. I love the life groups we've been a part of. I love the large group-small group-growth group/accountability model that has helped us connect deeply with several other couples over the last 19 years. I love the mission trips. I love the adoption ministry. I love women's Bible studies. I love women's ministry. I love my writer's group.
But the ministry closest to my heart is a ministry called ReEngage. There are no words to describe the impact that ReEngage has had on me personally and on my marriage. ReEngage puts the verse James 5:16 "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" into real live action. This ministry creates an atmosphere of transparency, honesty, vulnerability, and authenticity that I have never seen anywhere else, and such an atmosphere gives people a chance to surrender their issues to God and let Him redeem them because they know they're not alone. Shame grows in the dark, when we hide our mistakes and struggles rather than admit to them, but when you confess your sins to others in a safe atmosphere, you give strength, courage, and resolve to someone else who may struggle with the same thing. We need accountability, not isolation, to fight our demons. The more we cover up and even deny that we have problems or have made mistakes, the easier it is to let them go unresolved and thus tear us apart. And every time our pride gets in the way, we deprive someone else of knowing they're not the only one with their particular struggle. I can't tell you how much I've learned, grown, been challenged, convicted, changed, and inspired by the people I've met here at ReEngage.
Cole, our weekly worship leader every Wednesday night
Tim and Monica, our fearless leaders who led us while they walked through their own fire. We also got to be in a Lifegroup with them for a year when we switched back to the main campus after COVID. Love them and so honored to know them.
The pastor of LakePointe Espanol who shared his testimony so vulnerably and courageously this last week. The transparency in our leaders is amazing.
A few faces from our ReGroup, a group of couples that already went through the whole program and just wanted to keep meeting weekly to stay on the right track. There are no words to describe how much these people (and a few who left before we took the picture) have meant to me and challenged me.
I hated the circumstances that led us back to ReEngage three years ago, but I honestly wouldn't want to change them for all that we've learned and gained through being part of it for the last three years. Every church needs a ReEngage program. People need to know that the church isn't full of perfect people with perfect reputations. No wonder so many marriages fail. People struggle in isolation, wondering why it's so hard for them and not everyone else. But when you walk into a room and hear people confess their struggles, especially in marriage, you know you belong and are safe. You don't have to hide for fear of being judged. On the contrary, they offer grace and stand ready to help restore you and help you find a better way. It's a lot more inspiring to follow a leader who admits their struggles and mistakes than one who hides them and pretends they have it all together.
If you find out that a church near you has a ReEngage program, rearrange your schedule and GO! I found a couple not too terribly far from where we're headed. I hope our new schedules will let us at least check them out in the near future.
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