God at Work through Friendship: To Gather Up a Family That Had Strayed Away

“A few Sundays ago you sat next to me in church and invited Chris and me to come on Monday nights. Chris and I are soooooo thankful for that,” Sandy writes to her new friend. “Because you took the time to reach out to us, God began changing our desire for HIM... and gave us a hunger for Jesus again.”

That Sunday, Sandy and Chris Smith admit they were both struggling in a life without Christ. It wasn’t that they didn’t know Jesus. They had allowed the busy-ness of his job to keep them away from other believers for years, eventually leading them down a path of separation from God and each other. But God pursued them and began healing their hearts and home through some unexpected circumstances.

Just before Mother’s Day, Chris was let go from his job. He’d been working at least 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, managing the construction of multiple high-end homes that sometimes ended up quite a distance from each other. He would come home each day totally exhausted, leaving before dawn and often returning late at night. Sometimes he’d choose to just to go to bed rather than eat, so he could begin it all again the next morning.

The company had provided Chris with a great truck, iPhone, iPad, and laptop, but that fateful morning in May, and through no fault of his, they suddenly took it all away. His employment was simply over. He actually had to ask somebody to take him home! And so began months of uncertainty.

Sandy recalls, “At first, I felt just terrible for Chris and felt the demoralization that he might have felt.” But as the days and then months went by with no work and their savings quickly dwindling, she admits, “I became frightened, angry, and very restless with our relationship.”

Chris’s previous work schedule was so rigorous that church had fallen by the wayside years ago. With their new circumstances, they had plenty of time for church and a renewed sense of priority. Having visited Riverside Church the summer before, they remembered the friendly people, relatable sermon, and awesome music. Even their son had enjoyed his experience at Riverside. Chris and Sandy decided it was time to return.

“That's where you come in,” Sandy continues in her letter to her friend, “.....inviting us to your home.... taking that time to offer us an experience which has led us back to Christ! We strayed away, and then we felt ‘gathered up’ again to follow Jesus. I believe the angels were joyful and singing praises to our Father knowing what was about to happen!!”

A few months have passed now and Sandy says she has never seen Chris more open with his feelings. Thanking her friend, she writes, “He is taking time with Jesus, and it is awesome to experience this alongside of him. He says it is because of the comfort level that he feels in Riverside Church and belonging to Monday night gatherings at your home. What an awesome group of Christian people! We are truly blessed!!!... Always know how you have succeeded listening to your heart and following HIS direction in [our] lives.”

As Chris and Sandy draw closer to the Lord, they are drawing closer to each other, too. God has provided Chris with a new job now, but they are not allowing it to keep them away this time. Praise God for pursuing His children and gathering up this precious family that had strayed for a very long season. Praise God for allowing Riverside Church to be a part of His plan for the Smith family.

God at Work in Nicaragua

The Riverside Youth Group expected to serve the less fortunate when they went to Nicaragua, and they did. They helped feed countless children and washed their tiny feet. They taught Vacation Bible School, led worship, and made a way for 97 children to give their hearts to Jesus!

What they did not expect was to meet perhaps the most Christ-like servant they’ll ever meet in their lives.

Martin was a humble, cheerful man charged with caring for the group, looking after their safety, getting them where they needed to go, and in general, meeting their needs. He rode an old bike, or carried it, through the mud and rain, up steep mountains and down—even in the black of night—always watching after them, leading them, ready whenever they needed him. A woman in a town at the top of the mountain that needs prayer? He took them. The bus stuck again in the mud? He rode up the mountain to help push it out. Lead the horses down the narrow mountain pass in the dead black of night? He was there. To say he went the extra mile for them would be a gross understatement. 

Martin's willingness and eagerness to serve them made a tremendous impression on the team. Zach and Michael both felt at times like they were watching Jesus. “Was this what Jesus was really like? Is this how He cared for others?” Michael says Martin was like love personified. Zach confides, “I want to be like that...like Martin...like Jesus!” How powerful to witness such an example. And it was catching. Zach recalls how awesome it was to watch the guys and gals on the team not only serving the kids in the dump, but also each other! Matt challenged the students to continue to walk it out—be on mission here, loving and serving all the time and everywhere—at home, at school, at Riverside.

There were other strong impressions made on the Nicaragua trip. Many students express how powerful the worship was, as if everything faded away and they were alone with God. Bryce says he has always felt most affected by the message preached at services, but during these nightly services he was struck by how strongly the worship time impacted him. Another student, agreeing, noted how amazingly God worked through the worship, crossing language and cultural barriers, providing a way for them to experience God together.

Several students share how eye-opening it was to see the absolute poverty, a state much of the world lives in. Carly shares how it makes her realize how ungrateful she’s often been. Bryce confesses it has opened up his heart to a whole new world. Jazzy says it was very humbling, helping her to break out of her own shell and teaching her to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Crystal was impressed with how these children lived off one meal a day that was usually gulped down in less than a minute and recalls how devastated a little girl was when half her only meal was accidentally spilled by another child. “People really do live off less than a dollar a day!” Stephanie had to learn to lay others’ burdens at the foot of the cross, allowing God to carry the weight of suffering and poverty around her.

 “My compassion makes me want to fix others’ pain, but even that I must give to Jesus.” 

The mission experience was influential in other ways, stirring up hope, confidence, and a desire to be real with others. Taking a break from the TV, iPods, video games, and social networking devices allowed the team to really focus on the relationships in front of them...and to hear God. The masks were peeled away and the students opened up their hearts and got real, facing their own brokenness, hopes and dreams. Although she does not yet know God’s way or His timing, Alexis now feels a definite call to full-time missions. Another lady confides that on the trip she learned so much more about herself. “I felt like what I did and who I am really does matter!” It gives her hope that she can overcome her own current circumstances. Alex recalls how tough many of the boys were, living in such a harsh environment. Still, he felt God calling him to challenge these young men to step up and be leaders in their community, serving and protecting the younger kids and uniting to be that positive influence their community needed to be a better place.

For ten days the Riverside Nicaragua Team watched loved in action. Devin says he will never forget what it was like “watching the kids respond to [their] love.” At the beginning of that first day the children were shy and awkward, but before long they clung to the students, mobbing them, starving for all the love they could get. What a beautiful picture of our universal desperation for the pure, saving love that only our Savior Jesus Christ offers. In the dumps of Nicaragua, our Riverside students and leaders recognized the power of love, worship, a servant’s heart, and God’s patient pursuit, calling each of us to play our unique role in His magnificent story of redemption. Praise God for the work He did in each person’s heart in Nicaragua!

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.