God working through His Disciples in Life Groups

                                                                 ...at Riverside Church 

                                                         

We all want to “belong.” Joining, or even visiting, a Life Group can be a rather scary prospect for some folks, though. “Doing life” alone is even scarier, however. Pastor Bob recently preached, man’s first crisis was being alone. God said it was not good...and He made Adam a companion. This week, a new couple at Riverside attended a Life Group for their first time. Here’s a part of the letter the Life Group leaders received after that first visit: 

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the wonderful hospitality that you extended to us this evening. Once again there is proof that God indeed answers prayers. When we moved here, I prayed that the Lord would help us find a new church that would meet our needs, most importantly a church that truly had a love for the Lord and one in which we could feel as if we belonged. I believe he has done that for us in Riverside. 

We also wanted to be in a small group but wanted one wherein there were like-minded people who love the Lord and who shared that love with others. I know we have found that as well. We are excited about belonging to your group and look forward to forming relationships with everyone. Your group feels like a family and that was so important to us.  

My husband is a very private man and has had difficulty over the years in forming trusting relationships with other men. He’s always been hesitant to “open up” with them. We talked about that on the way home, and he said he felt comfortable with the group and was looking forward to being there. It will be a slow process for him to open up, as I said, but I think he is looking forward to the opportunity. While he has remained a part of the denomination he grew up in, he told me that it’s probably the reason he’s been so mistrusting. So, for me, it is a true blessing that he is opening up his mind to new possibilities. He loves the Lord but has not shared his love of his faith with many others beside myself.  

So this is simply to say Thank you for your kind welcome tonight and your warmth and kindness you showed us. You are both true disciples of God. 

 Praise God for drawing this couple to Riverside and to this Life Group, meeting their needs. Praise God for allowing us to be a family, His family, growing together into disciples that love and live like Jesus.

God at Work through Life Groups

In the college and career life group for young women, leader Bethany Masquelier says that one of the things they regularly talk about is the importance of being sensitive to the Holy Spirit in the small things. "In being obedient to what seems to be small promptings, God will take us where He wants us to go without us being concerned about where that might be." 

Recently, one of the young women in Bethany's group experienced exactly what they'd been talking about. Normally shy and not one to naturally approach strangers and start a conversation, she looked out her window and saw a worker in the scorching Florida summer heat. The thought came to her, “I bet he could use some water.” As she wrestled with the idea of actually taking him some water, she got a water bottle out of the cupboard and filled it. Still unsure about how it was going to work, she wondered, “What would I say? How would I approach him?” Finally, she decided to just take the water with her and go out outside to get the mail. As she approached the man, he spoke up and let her know that it was very hot outside. He wanted to know where he might find some water. Lucky for him, she had his water right there in her hands.

As Bethany said, "It's amazing how God knows how far we can go. He meets us where we are stuck and helps to execute His ultimate plan. We do our best and He does the rest."

That young woman says this about being in a life group: "Being in a small group has been beneficial in my life because it is part of the team of people I have that helps grow me in my faith and knowledge of Christ. They help me take stories I have read many times and breathe new life into them, as well as open my eyes to the relevance of stories I may have thought to be irrelevant to life today. We get to learn and grow together and get excited about God together!"

God at Work through Life Groups::Using Forgiveness to Heal Hearts

It was an icebreaker at the Rogerson’s Riverside Life Group: “If you had to live one day of your life over again, what day would it be and why?” The man knew right away it was October 9, 2003. Around 11:00 that morning his wife called to let him know his father had just passed away. Later that day he discovered he’d actually regrettably missed a phone call from his dad around 1:00 am. That missed phone call has left him with a mystery he’s carried his whole life...a buried ache that was now painfully resurfacing.

“I’ve always wanted to know what my father was calling for. To say goodbye...to tell me he loved me? I have always wondered if my father accepted me as his son...was proud of me,” he laments. Was that phone call his last chance to learn how his dad had really felt about him? The old regret continued to haunt him. To make matters worse, he felt his sister had always treated him differently, as if he wasn’t really part of the family. They had different mothers. A few days before his father died, his dad had asked him to forgive his sister. While he’d promised he would, he never did.

Five years later, he found his life was crumbling down around him. 

“I had made some horrible choices and it had taken a real toll on me. I was on my knees in my driveway looking up and asking God to forgive me, to save me. I had no idea what God had in store for me.” 

One of the first paths God placed in front of him, though, was forgiveness. He realized that just as God had forgiven him, he needed to forgive others. And God started showing him the people he needed to forgive. He admits, “It had been a long time since I’d thought about my sister, but it all came back like it was yesterday. God softened my heart, and even though I wasn’t able to contact her, I chose in my own heart to forgive her.”

It wasn’t until 4 years later, when he sat in his life group and was faced with that question, that he began to pray God would answer the longing doubt about his father’s love. That’s when God began to unravel the mystery with a string of very unusual circumstances. Due to his step-father’s health, his mother and step-father moved in next door. To help them out financially, he put all their bills in his name. It had been 10 years since a landline phone had been in his name, but his parents needed one, so he thought nothing of it. A week later he awoke feeling very poorly. Unusual for him, he decided to call in and stay home. Later that day, while visiting his mom, she had a phone call. He was shocked to learn that it was his long lost sister looking for him! It had been 10 years since they’d spoken! “I got on the phone with her and she began to cry, asked me to forgive her, and said that she was so sorry for the way she’d always treated me. It was amazing!” he recalls.

Over the next few months they began to reconnect. She opened up quite a bit with him and finally asked if there was anything he wanted to know. He confides, “The questions about my father came to mind, but there was a part of me that was afraid to ask. What if I didn’t want to hear the truth?” He decided to risk it and asked his sister if she knew if their father was proud of him and accepted him as his son. She broke down in tears, explaining that there had been a lot of conflict between them mostly due to the fact that she had regularly talked badly about him. As he recalls, “she said [Dad] would always stand up for me and tell her that I was his son. I can’t even explain the feeling of peace that came over me.” 

The mystery was solved and his gratitude overwhelmed him. He got off the phone feeling free! God had answered his prayers in a way that only God could. He knows it was only because of the work God had been doing in his heart that he was able to forgive and reconcile with his sister, opening a door he’d never imagined would be there. It was at his life group a few weeks later that he revealed his story through tears. What a blessing it was for them to share his joy and relief and to know they’d played some tiny role in his powerful story. How beautiful to witness a man set free!

God is still at work in this man’s life, doing amazing things. His sister and her husband have not only moved to Ft. Myers to be closer to him and rebuild their relationship, they are actually now in his life group! Praise God for setting up a divine appointment with his sister and for bringing his heart to a place of forgiveness so that his own heart could be healed!

God at Work through Hands-On Love

Sometimes being the hands and feet of Christ requires blood, sweat, and tears. Sometimes it requires power tools! When the Werley and Mueller Riverside Life Groups decided to help an elderly disabled woman, they knew she needed more than a few meals and encouragement. One of the obstacles in her daily life was simply accessing her home safely. Her ramp was old and unstable. She traveled up it backwards in her wheelchair with great difficulty, afraid she’d end up falling backwards down the ramp should it collapse. Riverside Church partnered with The Heights Foundation and Home Depot to replace the old ramp. It was a big project, but together they had the funds, man-power, tools, supplies and know-how to get the job done. 

A member of the Werley Life Group, George McMahon played a big part in the project, not only on-site, but also behind the scenes. As with any building project, plans and permits all had to be in order. He recalls how timid the elderly lady was when he first approached her to review some of the project details. He’d been cautioned that she was very private, and he wanted to be sensitive to her hesitancy to have a dozen strangers working around her home. By the time the ramp was done, though, she had warmed up quite a bit, even sitting in the doorway watching and visiting with the crew.

Pastor Chris recalls how excited the woman was—and her family—to see so many people caring for her, doing the things she could not do for herself. Over the course of 4 days, the crew not only built the ramp, they did a ton of yard work, trimming trees and bushes, putting down bark, and even planting some decorative plants around the ramp. One of Pastor Chris' favorite moments was when he realized that Beth Morford from his own life group knew how to seriously handle a chainsaw! Not only did this project help the members of the Mueller life group learn more about each other, he feels it really helped bond the group. It felt good knowing they’d joined resources to help someone from whom they never expect anything in return.

Julie Workman attends Riverside Church and is also the Chief Advocacy Officer of The Heights Center, an impressive facility and resource dedicated to helping at-risk children in the community and strengthening families. According to the foundation’s website: The foundation is a grassroots, hands-on organization that celebrates the strength and diversity of the community and has the goal of breaking the cycle of poverty. Its work supports community development programs for individuals, students, and families, and provides charitable outreach projects in the community. Julie is so thankful these Riverside Life Groups chose to take on this outreach project, helping a very special woman in the Harlem Heights community, an area with twice the poverty rate of Lee County. Together the live group crew put in 140 hours on this project. “What a difference [they] made...truly loving and living like Jesus!” Soon after the completion of this project, through the encouragement of a close friend, Julie and her husband Matt joined a life group close to their home.

George says it was so gratifying watching the elderly lady come out of her shell a bit, going up and down her ramp with confidence. Pastor Chris is sure this is just one of many projects the Riverside Life Groups will be able to do with The Heights Foundation and looks forward to seeing how God will work in others' lives and in our own hearts as we continue to reach out to “the least of these” in our own communities.

Praise God for the funds Riverside Church was able to contribute and for inspiring people from our own life groups to be a part of caring for the less fortunate in a very necessary and tangible way. Praise God that He is bringing glory to His own name and strengthening the church body through hands-on-love.

God at Work through Life Groups

Dave and Luann Flammia attended Riverside Church for over a year before it finally felt like “home.” They'd  been heavily involved in another church for years, but were burned out and became disconnected from the church entirely. Eventually they began attending Riverside. Sitting in the back, they enjoyed the worship, the message, and the people they met, but they still felt like something was missing - so when Bob asked them to consider plugging into a Life Group, they agreed. 

The Flammias tried several different groups before they found one that they really connected with. Dave admits that when he first heard about “the whole storying thing,” he was a little hesitant. But as the leader told a story from the Bible, the group re-built the story, checking the Bible for accuracy, and then discussed what God was showing them through the story, he could see that God was at work. “Somehow God seems to take [the story] and use it in incredible ways. It is definitely working.”

After joining their Life Group, Dave and Luann immediately felt like they became a part of the church family. They found what they’d been missing! Now, they’re enjoying their new-found friendships and have just recently become greeters, giving them a wonderful way to both serve the church and meet even more people. In fact, they are now excited to see how and where God is going to use them next, as they continue their journey with the Lord.

According to Dave, the Flammia’s Life Group has been and continues to be a blessing in their lives. 

“My wife and I are both growing spiritually closer to God and to each other. The [Life Group] has been an incredible experience for us, and we are so happy that we made the decision to check them out.”