Church Family is Imperative

I was reminded of something over the last couple weeks. Church family is imperative.

Maybe I should explain. I did not grow up with grandparents or cousins nearby. My Christian grandparents were very elderly and lived six hours away; my non-Christian parents lived eight hours away. Never did I have my biological grandparents or cousins at my birthday celebrations. Instead, I had my church family.

Psalm 68:6 comes to mind: “God sets the solitary in families.” My parents are great, and I have five siblings, so it wasn’t like I didn’t have family. But God provided abundantly with spiritual grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in the church. God used my grandpa (Bob Henning) to help ingrain missions into my family’s life, and the communal closet of the church enabled me to have plenty of clothing as I grew up!

Fast forward 20-some years, and that same church family, thankfully with a lot of additions, is still incredibly supportive. A few weeks ago, I ended up in a surprise emergency surgery and a five-day stay in the hospital split between ICU and a regular floor. Between my husband’s and my families and two church families, our meals were covered for weeks, many people were praying, and there was so much support! Our shepherding elder drove an hour each way to the hospital just to pray with us (for less than 3 minutes because of the restrictions in ICU). Less than two weeks later, my father ended up in the ER with a mini stroke, and again, that same church family sat in the waiting room praying for him late into the night. They covered rides and responsibilities.

Besides being incredibly thankful for all the love and care I have received from the church family, both here in the United States and during my short stay in South Sudan, I realize how imperative the church family is. In Christ, we are brothers and sisters! So, let’s live like that!

It has been a wonderful reminder to sacrificially love those that are in our own church so that we can be a witness to the world and have the strength to reach out to others. Through investing in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ locally, we can support them in life’s everyday challenges and joys, and we can support them as they serve Christ in missions across the globe.