Family Gatherings

It all started when…

Our church was beginning to go through a new season. The family started to look different than when we began. New faces committed to going through life together and Sunday morning services just did not give enough time. Small talk and sitting on the same pews was nice but we wanted more so that is when God started pressing down on our hearts the desire to get to know each other more.

Around the end of June in 2018 our church family was blessed with the free labor of the Baptist Builders in Texas. They came and built our church building. The love they showed us was insurmountable. People from all over the States came and spent two weeks serving us. During this time our pastors and some members were being convicted of the love these people showed us. God had already been planting seeds in the hearts of different individuals of our church but with conviction comes responsibility to take action. What are we gonna do? How are we gonna love each other at Grace Baptist Church?

I(Austin) would point to a few individuals specifically who helped create this. Keith and Julie Parker, Cobie and Ashley Tomlinson, Mike and Donna Frazier. These couples wanted our church to grow. They seen the need for our families to know each other better and thankfully they put a date on the calendar for us to start meeting once a month for a “family get together.”

Once a month a family or individual opens up their home for the church to come in. Food is provided from everyone who attends and a short devotion is given during the time spent. Singing usually occurs as well as we all sit around the room like a enormous family spending time together. We have great conversations and are truly blessed with encouragement, needed tough conversations and most of all love pouring out from each person attending.

Family matters and we want to know our family deeply. We never want to fall into the tradition of knowing others on a surface level. When we look at the Book of Acts and even Jesus’ twelve we see a family unit changing the world. Brothers and sisters gathering together in each others home and doing life together. Seeing all the un painted walls, dirty dishes and full trashcans. Vulnerability matters and when you open up your home to others you get to experience what Christ experienced as he invited us into his family, into his home.

Family gatherings happen once a month at a members house. Each month the home we will be visiting is announced along with the address. Come check us out on Sunday mornings at 10:45 to find out when our next one is. We would love to have you!