In the summer of 2023, my husband and I were scrolling through Group Launch to try a small group for the second time. It was taking some bravery and accountability on both our parts to follow through with joining a Community Group, but we knew this was where God was leading us in this next season.
On the way to that first meeting, we assured each other that if it didn’t feel right on day one, then we wouldn’t make ourselves keep going. Fortunately for us, it felt completely right. Alex and Melissa Miller, our small group leaders, immediately made the group feel warm and inviting, and we quickly started to view Tuesday evenings as our favorite night.
Fast forward to this fall, when one of the group members, Jared, opened up about his mom’s recent breast cancer diagnosis. This being her second encounter with breast cancer, she is facing an intense treatment regimen. Group members leaned in and prodded Jared to let us know how we could help—after all, that’s the point of Community Groups, right?
Jared eventually let us in, telling us that he was spending the little extra time he had making small repairs on his parents' 30-year-old house. Beyond the most recent cancer diagnosis, life in general had kept their house full of love, but demanding more attention than the family was able to give. As a group, we agreed to show up to hang drywall, repaint, and help with whatever projects popped up. However, after that meeting, I knew my dad, who is the president of a home building company, would want to know what we were up to.
It took all of five minutes to get dad on board. After visiting their home and meeting the Aaron family, he was even more excited to help. Today, the “Holly’s House” project is well underway. With my dad’s guidance—and vendors’ donated labor, expertise, and materials—the house is being totally remodeled. We hope to soon have the Aarons in their remodeled home—with a new kitchen and appliances, a renovated bathroom, new flooring and fresh paint throughout, a new driveway, and retaining walls to stop chronic leaks.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12
It is through the opportunity to come together as a community that I have seen, known, and experienced the fullness of God.
You are Made For More, too. Volunteering in our church is one way you can discover the more you are made for. Ready to find out what you were made for?
