highlights:
It was my first Sunday at my new home, Seacoast Community Church. To say that I merely enjoyed the morning would be an understatement. It was one of the most welcoming experiences of my life. The people of Seacoast Community Church literally embraced my wife and I after each service. Seriously. So. Many. Hugs.
One of my favorite parts of the morning was the “getting to know you” interview of my wife and I (not because we were the center of attention; believe me, my wife would have loved to avoid the whole ordeal altogether). The interview was completely unscripted, real (with nothing crazy said from me for once) and personal, which I thought was great because it reminded us all that the Church is made up of real people with real lives outside of the four walls. It’s NOT a production. No one, on stage or in the room, has life figured out. We’re all just walking together and learning from each other as we strive to honor God with how we live. I’ve seen a lot of churches, but I’ve never heard of or seen a church take time during the service to actually converse with a new staff member and his family. I think the interaction helped break barriers and not just for the people of Seacoast Community Church, but also for my wife and I. Following each service, we had some really awesome conversations with people who may not have felt comfortable approaching us, or us them, had not we taken the time to be real in the service.
This activity also served as a good outro of sorts for Mighty To Save, which we sang right before. The second verse stood out to me as we sang it. When we surrender our lives to God, as seemingly broken or fine as they may be, He uses us to do far more than we could ever imagine. Joining Seacoast Community Church was definitely an act of faith for my wife and I. We weren’t sure how the people would be or how the details would work out (still aren’t completely), but we’re trusting that our God, who can move mountains, will use this new chapter of our lives to make us shine ever brighter for His namesake in Encinitas and beyond. We can already see, based on conversations we’ve had with the people, that He has something great for us to do here. We’re super pumped to walk into it!
songs:
All Creatures of Our God and King
The Lord Our God as sung by Passion ft. Kristian Stanfill
Mighty To Save as sung by Hillsong Worship
Temitope 