Week 20 (12 - 18 May): Building Bridges in His Kingdom

Last Saturday, the youth and young adults had a unique opportunity to listen to some friends from SF. During the sharing session, it was pointed out to us that as Christians, we are likely to be most comfortable sharing with each other our testimonies. We may be afraid to share with non-Christians for fear of coming across as too “pushy”, or because we think the language and setting are too foreign to them. We fear rejection, and we choose the safer option of not saying anything — but that is not what we were called to do.

I say this without pointing fingers, because I also hesitate when my non-Christian friends ask me “So, what do you do in church?” I know the full sequence of events - we have worship, games, message and prayer or worship again in close. I know that I come to meet a (in many ways) hungry community on Saturdays, made up of some of the most loving, most patient, most generous people I know. So these are the things that we do, but how do I fully capture the experience of being here every Saturday without making it sound like just hanging out?  

When Friend A asked me that question last year, I paused, stuck, unsure, and then ended up telling her a story. At the time, I was deeply unhappy with a part of my life but couldn’t quite put it into words. Without me asking, my church friends made time to eat with me and talk things through, patiently helping me make sense of it all. They never pushed me to say more than I wanted or tired of hearing the same struggles again and again. On days I had no strength, they prayed for me that I would hear God and for His wisdom and peace to fill me. I never felt like anything I said could drive them away. When I stood on the edge of a life-changing decision, I knew I could call them anytime, and they’d drop everything to be there. That story had no Bible verses, no worship, but in it, I saw what belonging to the body of Christ was: being loved unconditionally, and gently guided back to God in the middle of crisis. 

When Friend A heard how my community showed up for me, she loved it so much she ended up coming for Be A Star last year. Sometimes, when non-Christian friends hear how faith and community carry us through doubt, they see that faith isn’t distant or abstract — it’s deeply human. It’s love in action.

Where we sometimes stumble is in what stories we tell to people within and outside of the church. Do we tell the story of the time someone showed up looking very angry and didn’t participate through service? Or do we tell the story about the time my friend showed up, and when she was clearly going through something that I had no solution to, and I prayed for her because that’s how big our faith is - when it is beyond us, God is for us. I hope we continue to tell the stories that represent who God is and what He means to us, and I encourage you to pray and ask God to put on your heart a friend who needs to hear your testimony today.

Shalom! 

On behalf of the youth,

Zoe