30 Jul Dive In!
The Mosaic Church family will be coming together for a day of fun at Typhoon Texas Waterpark on August 15. As I consider the purpose behind Mosaic hosting this church-wide event, I have memories of when my family and I first arrived at the church and dove into the Mosaic community! Here’s that story…
“Community groups are the heart and soul of the church,” we were told when we first arrived at the church in 2010. So, as newcomers, we dove right into a group. By chance, it was the largest group at the church. It felt like a large family – everyone treated each other as sisters, brothers, cousins or they were already best friends. Yet, as newbies, we felt unknown and unattached (and unrested raising a nearly one-year-old child who had not discovered the glories of sleep).
We were supposed to do life together with this new community; we quickly got the chance. On a week that the group wasn’t meeting, my husband and I decided to host a number of group members at our house just to hang. How many people would you guess showed up? Two.
That’s right – we were part of the largest group in our church and two people showed up at our house. One came a few minutes early and stayed for a total of 30 minutes. The other came quite some time after the first. To be totally honest, it was a very awkward evening.
Despite the slightly disappointing and completely uncomfortable night, we continued in the community group beyond that experience. It didn’t take long for us to learn, though, that it wasn’t about how many people sat in our living room, but it was about the quality connection we made with individuals. As we showed up week after week, we began to hear the family jokes and learn about all the responsibilities people were juggling. We shared our own struggles as new parents, and we, too, started feeling known and attached. Those two people from earlier became some of our closest friends to this day – 11 years later. By consistently giving time and effort, the community group became more than our family; it became a place where we felt at home – in the living rooms of dear church friends.
Starting at a new church is not always easy. Investing in new church family can be awkward and challenging. Diving deep into a new community by doing life together can at times be disappointing. But the love of Jesus is the kind of love that convicts our hearts, focuses our minds, builds on the brokenness relationships may bring, makes space for new friendships and binds us deeper and closer as we do life together.
I’m not quite sure I’ve grasped yet what it fully means to do life with others, but I have learned: groups are good; serving on teams together is fulfilling; meeting outside of church events is enriching; and church events help bring us all together (without the awkward three-person standoff like we had in our living room with our first church guests, though that proved fruitful, too).
I’ve experienced so many times that our church, in doing life together, loves to do fun together too (singles’ and marriage events, activities for our children and students or opportunities for our entire church)! Jesus still renews our capacity with His love while we do fun together. And so I hope that you, whether you’re the newbie (like we were years ago) or you feel grafted into the family (like we do now), will not only dive into Sunday service or show up to community group, but also join us for fun events.
On Sunday, August 15, we are taking over Typhoon Texas Waterpark by the hundreds!
Get the details and your tickets. You are encouraged to bring your family, invite friends, and even tell others you don’t know yet to come! This event is going to be so much fun! And God is going to use this time, if you’re able to join us, to lovingly graft you into the community. I guess you could say He wants us to dive in together – to do life and to do fun together as a church family!
See you at Typhoon Texas I hope!
Elan Patterson