You'll be hearing from plenty of people other than me on this blog. This one comes from Jackie Ray, who has been my friend for a few years now, and I'm honored that she's decided to join us as we launch our church in Janesville. Enjoy! - Erik
It's about time.
After
moving to Janesville seven years ago, I found myself at Central
Christian Church in Beloit because family attended. It was never going
to be my church. It was going to be an in-between, safe place to land
until we got our bearings. Central was a culture shock for me because it
didn’t look like “church”, but it was also a healing place. I was
blown away by the prayer ministry, by the concern and care the pastoral
staff showed, and by the creativity. I realized that at this church, I
could be who God created me to be. I thought for sure I could find a
similar church in Janesville.
After
visiting several wonderful churches, I realized that I belonged at
Central Christian. The DNA of CCC was written on my heart. No other
church would do. At Central Christian, “we have no creed but Christ, no
book but the Bible.” It is all about Jesus and being His disciple.
The
moment I heard that my church was planting a campus in Janesville my
heart ignited. This is wonderful news! There really is no church like
Central Christian in my city. There are thousands of unchurched people
in my community that would never consider visiting a church in Beloit,
but a unique church in Janesville might be a different story. Maybe
Central will be the church for them, just like it was and still is for
me.
It
is exciting to pray and plan and think about how this will affect the
community I live, shop, and play in. I believe God has a big plan for
Central Christian Janesville. It is a privilege and a thrill to be a
part of that plan.
Greater things are yet to come!
Special thanks to Jackie Ray for her post this week. Feel free to share your reactions to our campus in Janesville in the comments section below. And, don't forget to show up at Edison Middle School this Sunday at 6pm for our first get-together.
While Beloit will always be closer and more convenient for me and my family, I am SUPER excited about this adventure Central is embarking on. God is doing amazing things through the people of our church and I can't wait to see what he gives us next!!!
ReplyDeleteJackie, I couldn't have said it better myself!!! I, too, started going to Central about 7 or 8 years ago. I couldn't believe it was a church the first time I sat in the Dream Center. I grew up Catholic so it was culture shock to say the least! But I fell in love with everything about it. Especially how real everyone is and the fact that the church is super big but can feel as small as you want it to feel once you get hooked up in a small group or on a volunteer group. I am super excited to see what God has in store for CCC in Janesville. Greater things are yet to come!
ReplyDeleteI think that's probably a song we need to sing together on Sunday night, ladies...
ReplyDelete