Leaving my church in Texas was so hard. I love LakePointe Church and all the ministries offered within the church. Ministries both to meet your need where you are in life and to give you multiple opportunities to serve others where they are in life. I'll always be thankful for a church home with a thriving Adoption and Foster Care Ministry, a powerful Marriage Ministry, a Financial Fitness Ministry, a Counseling Ministry, a Christian Writer's Group, a weekly Lifegroup Ministry, a huge emphasis on Missions all over the world and also in our own community, a Prayer Team, and a Women's Bible Study Ministry. Each one of those ministries connected me with people I could do life with in every season and with people that mentored me or that I could mentor. I loved being part of a big church with people from all walks of life that I grew close to by traveling together, studying Scripture together, having dinners together, praying together, putting on large conferences together, or just sitting around a table sharing our writing with each other and giving constructive critique.
I miss those people and those groups dearly. As well as a Saturday night service.
Church is family, and relationships that grow within a church body are essential and irreplaceable. Finding a new church home kind-of overwhelmed me. Especially because I was back in a small town with much smaller churches than I'd gotten used to and that only met on Sundays. I didn't expect to find all the different ministry groups I left behind, but I at least hoped to find a church with a thriving women's ministry that I could get involved in.
We tried one church and felt welcome, but it seemed like several critical parts were missing. We tried another, felt welcome, but something still didn't feel right. We knew people at both, so we almost felt "guilty" for not going back. Then a coworker told me all about her church, and it sounded a lot like the church we left behind. So we visited once and immediately knew we were home. And every month we're there, God just keeps confirming that decision to us in so many little ways.
We love the worship style, the preacher does a phenomenal job communicating Scripture so clearly, and we found a community group to join. We started meeting with smaller discipleship groups, and we volunteered to serve in the coffee ministry once a month. I found an amazing Biblical counseling team, and Mike and his brother volunteered to help out with maintenance needs that arise at the church. I've also already met at least four writers within the church, and I've heard there's more! Sure would love to see us form a writer's group someday.
I reached out right away to the women's ministry leader, attended two women's events, and went to both the fall and spring Bible study. When I expressed interest in helping out more with the ministry, I got to help make Scriptural encouragement cards to make available at the yearly retreat/gathering or other women's events. I signed up for the women's big annual gathering in May, and to my surprise, they asked me if I'd like to lead a table group. I had no idea what that meant or entailed, but I jumped at the chance. I didn't find out until the night before that it meant I'd facilitate the table discussion after each speaker. That's one good way to get to know a few more people, I thought.
The night of the gathering came, and I walked in still very awkwardly as I still don't know that many people. But I sure am glad I signed up and went. The women's ministry at this church is truly thriving, and the hearts of these women just blew me away. All five of the speakers were from the church, and they all spoke very tenderly about a specific struggle God brought them through and spoke with an incredible passion to know God in an intimate way. The theme was all based on knowing God personally through his many names, a theme I've spent a LOT of time studying and researching over the last few years. A topic I'm deep in the middle of writing about for a book for undereducated ministry workers in third world countries. Just another confirmation from God that He's the one who guided us to this church.
