Give
If you’ve been around a church for a while, you may start to wonder:
Could this really become home?
Is it worth taking a next step?
Is the kind of community people talk about actually possible for me?
I know those questions because I’ve asked them too.
I started attending Spring Lake Church in 2015 while I was in college at UW–Green Bay. I first came because someone I knew, an old camp counselor, invited me to serve in Kids Ministry. At the time, I did not feel deeply connected right away. I showed up, attended, and went home. I was there, but I was not really known yet.
What changed everything for me was serving.
As I stepped into Kids Ministry, I started using the gifts God had already placed in me. I have always loved working with kids, and serving gave me a place to live that out. It also placed me alongside people who shared that same heart and passion. Serving did not just help me get connected, it made me come alive.
There is something powerful about using your God-given strengths to serve the church. It does more than fill a need. It awakens something in your faith. It moves church from being a place you attend to a place where you belong.
Later, when my husband and I got married and started a family, we took another step and joined a Life Group. It ended up being exactly what we needed in that season. As a young family, we found ourselves surrounded by people in all different stages of life. At first, that felt a little unexpected. But over time, we realized what a gift it was.
They had walked roads we had not walked yet. They offered wisdom, encouragement, perspective, and care when we needed it most.
Our Life Group became our lifeline.
They were there during one of the scariest moments of our lives, when my 8-month-old son had a medical emergency during group and paramedics were working on his tiny body.
They were there on a much different kind of hard day when we accidentally locked ourselves out of our house and our group leaders opened their home to us for the night.
And when my dad passed away last year, Spring Lake did not feel like just a church we attended. It felt like family.
That is what real community does.
It shows up in both the big moments and the small ones. It holds you up when life feels heavy. It reminds you that you are not meant to walk through life alone.
Belonging in a church rarely happens all at once. For most of us, it begins with one small yes. A yes to serving. A yes to joining a group. A yes to letting yourself be known.
That first step may feel uncomfortable, uncertain, or even unnecessary at first. But so often, it is the very step God uses to bring connection, growth, and deep relationships into our lives.
Looking back, I am so grateful I gave it a shot.
If you’re wondering whether community is possible for you, I want to encourage you not to stay on the sidelines. Take one small next step. You never know how God might use it to help a church become home.
Written By:
Carrie Vajko
Communications and Connections Manager
Spring Lake Church
