Eight years ago I married the love of my life and moved to a tiny town out in the middle of nowhere, which we love! Ryan and I both grew up Catholic. So when we moved here, we assumed that we would attend the local Catholic Church. We tried attending a couple times but with the close-knit community of a small town, we felt like such outsiders whenever we went… and we decided it just wasn’t the church for us.

For years we would sporadically talk about trying to find another church. But we never actually made that leap. We talked about what churches were in town. We talked about what our ideal church would be like. And we ultimately decided that it probably didn’t exist. All the while, I would say that my faith was not contained within four walls, and that I didn’t believe in a God that kept attendance. And while I still believe those things, I have a much greater appreciation for being part of a church family. I have grown so much spiritually in the past couple years since joining Renaissance and I’d like to try and explain why I now feel it is so important to have a church family.

(I do want to be clear and say that I am not judging anyone. I love people with all different beliefs and backgrounds. This is in no way an attack on anyone or any religion. I just know what I’ve gained in my own life and I’d like to share for those who are interested.)

I can honestly tell you that I have always believed in God. I have never once doubted in His existence, and I have always tried to live a good Christian life. I am blessed that I was raised in a family who brought me up knowing God and sent me to a school that taught me more about Him. Being Catholic, I learned about the saints; about Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection; I learned the different parts of the mass; I was an altar server; I played in our church’s band. I went to church every Sunday and I remember taking my confirmation very seriously. I say all of that to say this – I’m not one who grew up not knowing Him. I had a very strong knowledge of who God is. But my relationship with Him has changed.

I don’t know if it was my time away from church or that I was going through a difficult time or if God was just moving in me that day. But the first day I attended Renaissance, I knew I had found our church home. For the first several months I soaked up every service like a sponge! I wasn’t necessarily learning anything new, but the way I knew Jesus was being transformed.

This is the only way I know how to explain this:

Old Stephanie knew a textbook Jesus, a man who lived a long, long time ago. He did great and marvelous things, and he sacrificed himself for us. But my knowledge of Him then was one of respectful detachment, a God so far above me and beyond my understanding that it would be impossible for me to truly know Him. I knew God like I knew Martin Luther King or Abraham Lincoln. Someone I learned about from books, that teachers talked about, someone who was part of history and who’s effects were still here today.

Renewed Stephanie was learning about Jesus from a different perspective. Yes – we’re still learning about Him from our Bible (a book) but I was learning about a Jesus who cares so deeply for me that He knows me intimately. A Jesus who speaks to the very pains in my heart. I was learning that God was not far away and aloof, but rather very near and intertwined into the very details of every day.

My perspective on God shifted from simply believing in God to having a relationship with God. From reciting prayers to having conversations with him. From having a structured spiritual life to one where he is a part of every facet of my day. And the more I have learned about Him and the more I have sought a relationship with Him, the more I see and hear Him in my daily life. I’ve shared some of these things with you: the bunnies, when we were told not to pursue IVF, and when he told us he wanted us to pursue adoption. And there are a million little things that have happened in between. It is a crazy, wonderful, terrifying, and amazing thing to have a relationship with God!

Now could I have achieved this on my own? Maybe. But I think it would have taken me exponentially longer. There is something to be said for being active in your faith. For getting up and going to church  once a week (because sometimes that is all the more time we actually spend with God). For hearing other people’s perspectives and having someone else share what they’ve learned from reading their bible. For sitting in a room full of other people who want to know God too. For finding people who challenge you, encourage you, and lift you up…

And maybe you haven’t found that in a church…  It certainly took me a long time to find it. Maybe you have had a bad experience in the past or maybe you are at a point where you’re feeling uncertain in your faith. And believe me – I understand. But you need other people to grow in this… and that got me thinking… what is church really? So I looked it up and found this:

“The word church in the Bible comes from the Greek word, ecclesia, which means a called out company or assembly. Where it is used in the Bible it refers to people.”

Maybe, right now, you don’t have a church in the traditional sense but maybe you have it through your friends. People who tell you the truth no matter how hard it is to hear. Who challenge you to grow and be better. And who lift you up out of your own brokenness.

Because the truth is – I didn’t find Jesus in a building… I didn’t find Him in the music… And I didn’t find Him in words… I found Him through His people. Every Sunday, I get to know Him in the words shared during the sermon. I hear Him in the woman singing loud and off-key behind me. I feel Him in the way the band moves to the music as they play. I see Him in the loving prayerful embrace of those in the gallery lifting each other up in prayer.

It is my people, my tribe, my church family that have helped me grow in my faith and relationship with Him. These people who say the hard words when I need to hear the truth, who challenge me and lift me up in prayer. These people who have taught me what it is to have a relationship with Him… to seek Him, constantly. To find Him in the tiniest details of my day. To not just recite prayers but converse with him. To tell Him about my day and silently wait for His reply.

I guess my point is simply this… if you’re feeling a little lost or overwhelmed, if you’re wanting more from your life, maybe it’s time to seek Him. And the best place to start is to find His people and let them fill up your life.