I’m married to an amazing man and we have 1 kid.I’m the Director of Community Groups at Crossroads in Cincinnati, Ohio. My husband and I are very active in the athletic community. We believe the Lord has called us to make disciples of that specific group of people and we’re having a blast being obedient.
I grew up in the church and walked with a spiritual tilt, bent towards knowledge, this lead to a pious life of performance and fear of failure. I had been on staff at Crossroads for two years and was experiencing frequent anxiety attacks linked with the pressure to perform (put on by myself). I jumped into SFL to test it out. A few others had gone through it previously and were talking about offering it to our community at large. My intentions were to “test” what was being taught. Instead I received the Lord’s loving discipline. I experienced the full and true nature of who God is, not who I’d been taught he was. I surrendered to Christ’s Lordship and the Holy Spirit’s ministry for the first time. I finally gave up my efforts to be perfect and the belief that I ever could be. I cried for a week straight as the Lord broke my rebellion with His grace. I’m so thankful for the power of His word. It truly is transformative.
After experiencing SFL I know I use it as a foundational tool. Like the story of the wise man who built his house on the rock, I want our community to have a solid foundation to build upon. I can think of no better cornerstone to build a life of faith on, than the experience of who God really is and how I’m to engage with Him. We ask all our leaders who teach or facilitate a group to go through SFL first. We also offer multiple groups throughout the year to our community at large.
Week #1 we tell everyone in the group the main purpose of this group is for them to one day, turn around and invest what’s getting ready to be invested in them, into others. Once a participant goes through for the first time, we ask them to do it again from the perspective of a facilitator. In this second dive, we really push them to wrestle through the personal implications of Word. The good fruit we’ve experienced, usually comes from people whose lives have truly been transformed by the Lord, rather than those whose knowledge has increased. We help them learn how to share their personal stories with future participants and how to continue to wrestle with the Lord themselves.
There’s been so much pure fruit the Lord has produced through SFL. It’s the most powerful experience anyone can engage in because it’s nothing but the Word of the Lord. For 11 weeks people wrestle with the truth. And at the end, we’ve experienced first-hand, how the truth does set people free.
Families are engaging in a weekly sabbath together. Moms are influencing from a posture of trust. Dad’s are leading from a position of Godly authority and humility. Kid’s are excited to be part of a family on mission. Marriages are strengthened. And overall, our community is beginning to live out of God’s story rather than their own. It’s such a blessing to have access to a comprehensive experience with God’s story. God’s kingdom is near!
