One year ago a transition occurred in my life and the lives of many loved ones. I resigned the church that I served as pastor. The people there were good folks who loved God. It became obvious that my theological position and ministry philosophy were not in line with the direction that the lay leadership were embracing. So, I resigned. It was difficult. It came as surprise to many in the congregation. It was a painful experience.
Several families in the congregation were not in agreement with the positions the leadership held. They each left the congregation. Meeting in a home Bible study they decided to form a fellowship and subsequently asked me to lead it. From this beginning a congregation developed: Providence Family Fellowship. What a blessing this fellowship has become to each of us. We come from widely varied backgrounds. Yet, in the middle of the variations a strong, warm, God seeking fellowship has been forged.
We are a Reformed Baptist fellowship who practice a family integrated approach to ministry. We meet in homes. We have seen real spiritual growth take place in each member from the little to the large; growth that would have been almost impossible in the an age segregated format.
It has been a year. It is hard to believe that it has been a year and it is hard to believe that it has been only a year. Our lives have been knit together in a manner that is so natural that it is difficult to describe. The men have grown in their abilities to lead their families.
All of this has been by God's great grace. What a precious and marvelous God we serve. Praise be to him!!
Happy Birthday Providence Family Fellowship!
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1 comment:
Happy birthday to your fellowship! My father is the leader of a house church, and when I'm at home it's always a joy to attend (I usually lead worship for them too). It truly is amazing how close of a community is formed in that type of setting--one of the best examples of Christian community I've ever seen. And I love the age integration. We tend to forget that age segregation (particularly in education) is a Greek idea and not a biblical one. When we recover integration it's a beautiful thing. Thanks for the post!
AJ Harbison
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