My fiancé Melissa, my stepdaughter Lynliegh and I have been attending Good Shepherd for about 10 months now.
I grew up going to various different churches all the way into my mid teenage years. We had a lot of good times going on mission trips and going to summer camps and concerts with the youth group. There was also a lot of judgment and contradicting behaviors in the church that pushed me away from Church in general for the better part of 20 years. During that time my life was basically on a tread mill, I was running and running but not going anywhere.
Then one day last March Melissa came home from work talking about a conversation she had with a coworker about some of the topics being brought up in the youth program here at Good Shepherd. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had been waiting for somebody to talk to me about going to church. And after a few brief conversations, Melissa and I both agreed that Good Shepherd sounds like a place we should try as a family. And it wasn’t but a few visits later we felt right at home. There was something about Good Shepherd that just felt different than my previous church experiences.
We have heard a lot about small groups here. When I first heard about joining a small group, I was a bit hesitant. You know, new place new things, outside my comfort zone, I don’t really want to get up extra early in the middle of the work week or go after work, I don’t really know any of these people, do I even qualify for this? I was basically coming up with any excuse I could in my mind to not join a small group
But then I was approached by Bryan to join a group he was starting. So the personal invite felt great and even though I didn’t know very many people at Good Shepherd and I hadn’t been attending very long, the people I do know here are pretty cool and are all super great to my family and I, so, I decided to give it a try and joined a Wednesday morning men’s group.
Taking an hour out of the week to have fellowship and study over the previous week’s sermon has really brought to light how God’s word is and has been prevalent in my life, even when I wasn’t paying attention.
I will say to anyone considering or on the fence about joining a small group, you should give it a try. The spiritual enrichment you receive at small group is a great feeling to take with you. The camaraderie you will have with your peers is next to none. There’s no judgment being passed. It’s very much a round table of sorts, everybody has a seat, everybody has a voice, and everybody is respected, everyone is encouraged to be the best version of themselves and to share God’s love. We even have the opportunity to offer up a prayer request and have people pray over you…which is really special.
It’s an all-around great experience. Join a small group, invite your friend, invite your family, invite your neighbor, invite your enemy to join a small group. I highly recommend it!
