Thankful For An Experience

Have you ever made a decision that you KNOW affected the rest of your life? We are faced with decisions daily that may or may not alter the course of our life, but every now and again life changing decisions and experiences come about and it’s awesome when you get to see them come to fruition.

I am so incredibly thankful for a decision I made and an experience I encountered back in February 2009. I didn’t know then that one simple leap of faith would drastically change my life – in more ways than one. But let’s step back a little before February 2009.

I take you back to December 2007, when my childhood best friend and I made a HUGE decision to leave our lives in Roanoke, VA and move to D.C. Moving to a new city meant starting over with EVERYTHING and this included the need to find a local church. Admittedly, I didn’t get really serious about finding a church right away, I was still trying to figure out my new job at the theatre and spent time getting acquainted with D.C. on the weekends. I wish I would have started my church search earlier, but had that happened this story might not end up quite the way it did.

I grew up attending both Episcopal and Methodist churches, so I started out by visiting some Methodist churches close to my apartment. At almost every church, I was the youngest single person there by at least 20 years. Yes, there were several people there that were my age, but they were all married and had children – that wasn’t my life yet. I wanted to connect with people walking through similar situations in life.

During my church search, I saw tons of signs near my apartment advertising a church that met in a movie theatre. I didn’t ever give it much thought because it just seemed so strange to meet there. How can you have church without an actual building? However, while I continued to search for a church home, I visited one of my college girlfriends in Fayetteville, NC and attended her church that met in a middle school and I loved it! It was a contemporary service with an awesome worship set and a pastor that seemed so real. I was so jealous for something like that in my life. When I returned to D.C., I continued my search and found myself at another Methodist church. Unfortunately I didn’t connect with the message or any of the congregation. Nothing against any of the churches I visited, I just needed something different in my life and I so badly wanted to connect with people – I didn’t just want to show up at church on Sunday morning and that be it for the week.

While driving home from this last Methodist church, I again saw a sign for DC Metro Church, the one that met in a movie theatre. Taking my experience from the church in Fayetteville, I decided the next Sunday I would give DCMC a try. And I’m so glad I did. Upon first entering the theatre, I was immediately greeted by friendly faces from people who wanted to talk to me and not just say hello. And oh my goodness, the congregation was young! There were so many people my age there, just so full of life. I was so excited to see what this church was all about. The worship set felt like a concert, I loved every second of it and immediately felt the presence of God (who thought that God could show up in a movie theatre?). The message was actually preached by the Pastor’s wife that Sunday and I remember it so well (I even remember what she wore – because the woman can dress!). Pastor Taryn preached on getting interrupted by God and finding the blessing in those interruptions.

My first visit to DC Metro Church was such a great one and I left that day knowing I had just found my church. I immediately began getting involved; I joined a serving team (Guest Services, so I too could greet people and make them feel welcome just as everyone did for me) and also joined a women’s bible study. The messages that were given each and every Sunday were so relevant to what was happening in my life. I often joke that I feel like our Pastor is spying on me because his messages always line up with situations I am walking thru. He has an amazing gift straight from the Holy Spirit. The weekly teachings from Pastor David’s messages and the relationships I started to make by serving and joining different groups have totally changed my life.

Before joining DC Metro Church, I never knew what it meant to have a REAL relationship with God. I didn’t understand talking to Him on a daily basis and I certainly didn’t grasp the concept of loving Jesus more than anything else. But DC Metro Church has been a catalyst in growing my relationship with the Lord. I understand His unfailing love and I came alive because of this church. Also, prior to DCMC I never thought about introducing hurting people to Jesus. To me (at that time), if someone had been a drug dealer or in prison or some other bad thing, they were just that, bad, and had no place in the church.  But DC Metro church has taught me to love ALL people, regardless of their past. Give people what they need, not what they deserve. Jesus loved all people and it is our job here on earth to seek and save those that are lost. (Luke 19:10)

Because of DC Metro Church, I also met my husband. Yes, when I first joined the church I had a thought in the back of my head, hoping to meet someone to date. Never did I imagine that I would actually meet the man of my dreams. It was so comforting to me to know that I met someone with the same passion for Christ and the same values as me.  Because of DC Metro Church and my husband’s example of faith when nothing seems possible, my relationship with Christ has grown. I will always be amazed at what God did in our lives to bring us together in His house. I could go on and on about how amazing my church is and how much we have flourished by planting ourselves in the House of the Lord (Psalm 92:13). God is so good. It’s as simple as that. His blessings are poured on us every day. And I have DC MetroChurch to thank for introducing me to a daily walk with Christ.

Picture from my Baptism, July 2011

(I’m participating in the DC Ladies Thankful Project through this post. I’m a little off the schedule, but I really wanted to write about an experience that I am thankful for. Click here for full details on the Thankful Project.)