Covenant Fellowship is a big church, and being a part of a big church can be challenging. “How do I become connected in this church? What can I do to feel that I’m a part of things? What is my role in the church community? How do I get to the point where I feel like I really belong?”
To be honest, even though I have been a member for a long time, there have been times when I have stood in the lobby and felt overwhelmed. Trying to get to know people and feeling connected to the church isn’t always easy, it takes time, patience and perseverance. The best way I have found to connect to the church community is through serving.
The more I have served, the more I have felt connected, and I have received many other blessings as well. I get to be with other Christians and have fellowship with them as we accomplish tasks together. I have gotten to know many people in the church this way who I probably would not have met otherwise. Most exciting to me is that I have built friendships with people of different ages and different walks of life. We get to spur one another on towards love and good works, and inevitably, a bond forms with others as we serve side by side. I have seen God move in my own life and the lives of others as I’ve served, and this increases my faith in God and keeps me excited about building his kingdom.
You may be wondering how I knew where to serve and how I figured that out. Some questions that helped steer me in the direction of where to plug in were: What are my passions? What are my life circumstances? What stage of life am I in? After thinking through these questions, I found places and ministries to serve in fairly easily. I had children so I found myself helping in ministries that connected me to them. For example, when my children were small I served in Promise Kingdom. When my kids got to junior high school, they were in Cross Culture, so I served at youth camp. Now that my children are grown, I have found ways to help with the Thrive ministry during the conference.
There were other ways God directed me too. Every time my husband and I watched the baptisms at church, we were affected by the testimonies of how God used the Bridge Course to change lives. So we got involved, and now we serve as deacons in that ministry. God can even lead in small ways: I like coffee, so there you go–there are always opportunities to make coffee for events!
Serving in different ministries in the church has been the best way for me to get to know people and experience rich fellowship in the church. The more I serve, the more I feel knit in and the smaller the church feels. Now Covenant Fellowship feels like my church, not just the place I go each Sunday to worship. If you’re feeling lost in our large church, I encourage you to step out in courage by stepping into service. Not only will God use you to build his kingdom, but you will feel more and more that you are among family, because you will be.
For more information on the Bridge Course offered at Covenant Fellowship Church click on this link. https://covfel.org/connect/intro-to-christianity-bridge/
