I'd Like To Invite You

Back to Church!

If you have ever been and then stopped going.. or even if you have NEVER been, I encourage you to go. If you are already a church go-er I encourage you to invite someone! Our church is participating in National Back To Church Sunday. Back to Church Sunday is a campaign specifically designed to increase church attendance by creating a special service and then empowering church members with the tools they need to invite neighbors, friends and loved ones back to church.

Did you know that  82% are likely to attend church if invited...only 2% of church members invite someone.

I have been a church goer all my life, when I was younger I had gone to the same church from Nursery up until my senior year in High School. I loved that church, I loved the youth group. That church was like a second home to me. But because of sin in my life, I left that church. When I finally wanted to get my life back on track so I was re-connecting with other women from that church and we got together for a Bible study which really helped me. Not long after that I ended up getting married and moving to Washington with my husband, since he was in the Army and stationed at Ft. Lewis.

We originally werent planning on staying long in Washington, he was getting out of the military soon and we had plans of moving back to Cali. So I didn't really make an effort to find a new church home. It came close to the date The Hubs was supposed to get out, and what does he do? He re-enlisted! My heart sank... it was such a scary thing. I knew he was going to have to be deployed to Iraq for a second time and I didn't want him to go. He said his guys needed him, and he wasn't going to run away from his duty. Anyways.. since we were going to be staying in Washington now I knew it was time to find a new church home. But I had no clue where to start. So I just prayed. And one day while searching through the val-pak flyers I found one for a church that looked nice. It had to be a God thing.. because usually I threw those val-pak's away! I stuck that flyer for Neighborhood Church up on the fridge and said we would try that church. It was probably 2 or more months before we actually got up the nerve to go! So believe me when I say I know that trying a new church can be scary! I understand how nervous you get... you are not sure if you will feel accepted or if you will like it. 

But we were welcomed so lovingly! And that church became our new church home and we grew so close to that church family! I still love that church, and miss everyone there. Eventually The Hubs was deployed and instead of moving back to Cali with two kids in tow for his year deployment, I decided it would be easier to stay in our own home. Even though I couldn't drive yet, and I didn't know anyone! But the Pastor and youth pastor both taught me how to drive and helped me get my license. I got involved in the youth group and was at church 2-3 days out of the week. I had so much love and support there! That is what a church family is there for! I cant tell you how wonderful and important belonging to a church and church family is! Having friends to grow spiritually with, to encourage you and help you in your faith walk is amazing.

After 5 years of living in Washington, we finally ended up moving back to Cali. The Hubs and I weren't doing so well. Our marriage was struggling and we came close to divorce. We decided to get help and after about 4 months of not going to church we finally starting looking for one to go to. It was so hard... it took a long time to find the right one. It was hard for me not to compare it to my church in Washington, that I missed so much. I believe we tried 6 different churches before we finally decided to make First Christian Church our home. It's the church my sister goes to, she invited us once and we were a little iffy on if it was the one. So we had kept looking.. but eventually found our way back to it. It really felt the most like home to us. And I am so glad we made it our church home! I love our new church family, they are so supportive and Pastor Dan is amazing! The Hubs and I have come a long way since then, I know God has worked on both of our hearts and has healed the hurt in our marriage. I believe that is due to our involvement in church, God working through our church family there.

If you are a Red Bluff local I definitely encourage you to come check out First Christian Church.

The Address is 926 Madison Street, Church Starts at 10:30 am!

The Hubs and I are actually singing a special song on the 18th for Back to Church Sunday.

If you want more info about our chuch just leave me a message or email me! :)

If you are anywhere else and are interesting in going to church, but don't know where to go check out this page on the back to church site. It will help you find a church in your area! I really encourage you to go, find a church and check it out. At least once. I pray you will feel welcomed and at home. And if you already do belong to a church family I encourage you to invite someone to come! As you can tell belonging to a church family is important to me, those few times when I wasn't in church were not good times. I can tell you that belonging to a church family is wonderful. But I would love for you to see for yourself! Which is why, again, I'd like to invite you back to church! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

ALSO, Please Check out this promotional video for Back To Church Sunday.

Watch it.. its really good, and funny too. :)

Much Love & Hugs,