Thankful to God

Last night was a sweet ending to our time together as a Willow Grove GCM. I asked some of our GCMers to share on what life in community has been like over these 2.5 years. Here’s what some had to say:

“We knew we had found a wonderful church family in 7 Mile Road, but the consistent, genuine, and invested relationships with the families in our GCM have been a huge source of encouragement, accountability and inspiration for us. Before I was a member of a GCM, I had a small handful of Christian friends (ok, two) who I felt would encourage and challenge me spiritually. Now I have an entire family of brothers and sisters in Christ who know me and my family, and love us as if we had grown up together. They ARE my family in Pennsylvania, and we are so richly blessed by them.” (Amy S.)

“The Soul Care groups have been a great blessing to me. It’s a counseling group, accountability group and bible study group all rolled into one. The existence of this group helps you respond to sin by not just telling you what you want to hear but by lovingly helping to acknowledge mistakes and seek forgiveness. This group has been a tangible representation of a great God and my relationship with him.” (Merin T.)

“It has been great for me to have friends to be accountable to; I had always desired this, but had not been part of relationships where there was intentional accountability towards each other.  I suppose I had not experienced living in community previously.  It has been a thrilling experience to be in each others’ lives in a thoughtful and prayerful way.” (Princy M.)

“North hills has given me an opportunity to interact and be with a community that I would not have sought out on my own.. Although I was initially hesitant and selfish about my time, God allowed me to have time with these kids without feeling like I was being rushed or forced to be with them.  God has been with our GCM in every aspect of planning all events, that it allowed the children as well as the adults to know who we are as a community.  I look forward to my time with the children and feel excited about the next opportunity to interact with them.” (Soby P.)

“Soulcare has been an incredible part of GCM, allowing for a smaller community of the larger one to gather and have accountability to each other. For me personally, having a small group of women who hold a mirror to me, showing me my sin and where I falter in my walk with God where I may not have seen it, has been such a beneficial and growing experience. Also, the accountability, community and love and caring of each other has helped us grow individually and as a group.” (Jesie D.)

“Coming from a GCM, which felt like family, relocating and starting anew with an already existing, well-knit GCM, I had a moment of doubt. Would this be the same? Would we grow in community loving and serving our Lord? Would my kids do well going from one GCM, where they were the only kids, to a GCM where kids outnumbered adults? All these worries really only seemed to last just that – a moment. We praise God for the relationships we have found in his community and we feel we have been embraced as family. We praise God for this GCM’s creativity on ways to be on mission with the north hills community. Our kids now long for fellowship time with the other children in our GCM. I can’t say it’s been exactly the same experience as our former GCM. It’s never easy to part from a familiar, close soul caring group. But this truly has been a blessing for our family and we look forward to what God has planned next.” (Asha G.)

“All of the gents in my Soul Care team are just as busy as I am with expanding families, business travel and just life in general. It’s laughable, but sometimes it means that we’re coordinating our late night meetings the night of; via texts, just to see who’s in town, may be available and able to break away for an hour. When we do get together though, everything slows down and gets into focus. The conversation starts and the Lord is incredibly present in the dialogue and in His leading. So much so, that I often can’t believe it took so long to reconnect or that I would have thought about prioritizing any of the craziness of life above the precious amount of time spent sharing and in prayer. I’m immeasurably blessed by the honesty in struggles and the blessings so evident in these Seven Mile Soul Care brothers.” (Keith S.)

“I was hesitant in understanding the concept of GCM beyond just a group Bible Study. I mean the idea of service and local mission was nice, but even then, I always questioned my fit and purpose in this whole thing.  The Bible started to take action when we as a GCM tried to find a community in our area that we could serve not only physically but also spiritually. I didn’t understand how the skills I have in Technology could benefit anyone in a greater sense of the Gospel. I thought it was something separate that would never really mingle together. That was until our GCM partnered with a local community center in North Hills. Never did I imagine that the first need this community center had was to setup a computer lab for teens and grade schoolers. Never would I have imagined that the skill I lacked, which was running lines in a building, was the very skill another volunteer at North Hills had from his construction background. It seemed like everything fit just right. Who but God could have done this?  I didn’t do anything, I didn’t initiate anything, I just sat there and He did everything to bring it to me and it fit perfectly. If the children at North Hills have a little more today than they did yesterday, it wasn’t us.  It was God hearing their need and fulfilling it.” (Abbey P.)

“Our GCM has turned into one big family that loves to laugh with each other, cry with each other, pray with and for each other, feed each other, serve each other… and so much more. It has been a joy being a part of this group… we have gone from acquaintances to one family. It’s amazing how Christ can grow so much love in your heart for a group of people.” (Sherin A.)