Church Family, My Way
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” –Ephesians 3:14-15
When you think of going to church, what do you think of? Who do you think of? Most people would probably say they think about waking up and going as a family. But for me, I'm sure several other people look very different. Growing up, I never went to church and didn't get much exposure to religion. As I grew older, I would go to church here or there with a friend and their family. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I started going to church consistently. I always thought that if you went to church, you had to go with a group or your family, but I've realized through going to ZUMC that that's not the case at all.
I started going to ZUMC when I was in 7th grade. One of my best friends invited me to go to her youth group, and I agreed. I started to go to youth group more often until I started going every week with her. For the first bit, when I started getting involved with a single church, I didn't really know how to navigate it; I didn't have my family to help lead me through it or lead me into meeting the people there. My friend taking me every week and making sure I was involved seemed so small then, but looking back, it was one of the biggest building blocks in my faith. The simple act of inviting me to youth group that one week truly changed my entire faith experience.
I started going to actual church services more and more. The more consistent I stayed at ZUMC, the longer I was met with the utmost kindness and welcoming grace of everyone week after week. I started to learn the names of people and talk to people I recognized on Sunday mornings. And if I'm being honest, it wasn't always easy. Sometimes I felt out of place because I never had my set group or family to go with every week. I quickly realized that that was such a small fear compared to the joy church brought me.
ZUMC has given me some of my best friends and a support system and relationships I am forever grateful for. I now work with Miss Tracy in the children's ministry where I teach 2nd & 3rd Grade Sunday school. I serve on the student leadership team with Zach and other youth. I’ve gone on mission trips through ZUMC that have given me relationships and experiences with other churches and communities. I came to the realization that it wasn't the structure or the norms or the church that was holding me back, but it was the expectations themselves that made me nervous. Taking those steps and having those people to support me created one of the best parts of my life.
Fearing something new and unusual is normal, but I was met with so much kindness and inclusion at ZUMC; it really made all the difference to me. My favorite part of church every weekend isn't the worship or the sermon (even though they are definitely amazing), but it's the part after it’s all over where I get to talk to everyone and visit. The fellowship. I think a lot of people tend to take that part for granted a little bit. But for me, that's the most meaningful part because I did it on my own; I made my own relationships and experiences, and knowing every week I will be able to walk into a building and get to talk and interact with all of these amazing people in the ZUMC community is something I will never take for granted.
The reality is that it's hard. It's hard to do things on your own. It's hard to depend on your friends sometimes. And it's hard to step into a place that is tied to so many expectations. But this offers an alternate reality as well: that it’s possible. It’s possible to fit into a community on your own. It's possible to include others and make a difference. It’s possible to not fit into the expectations.
I also feel like I’ve been offered such a new perspective from going to church on my own. I get to talk to my family about my religion, and even though they don't go to church, they are so supportive of me, which I love. I now get to be the person at church who is inviting and welcoming and shares the joy of the Lord at church. I get to make something hard possible for someone else.
So to answer my own question, when I think of church and whom it makes me think of, it does make me think of my family. Not my biological family, but my church family. My best friends I go to church with and serve alongside, the people I've met who check up on me every week. My story might not start with family in the same sense someone might think of, but it ends with the same kind of family, and I am so grateful for that.
--Kasey Layton