MY church--guest blogger

My sweet fiance wrote a few words about our church in Tuscaloosa as he reflected on his time there as a member before moving. I was moved to tears and immediately asked if I could share this on my blog. He willingly said, "Yes," so here ya go!

As my time in Tuscaloosa comes to an end, and Birmingham is on the horizon, the one thing that I am not confident I will be able to replace is Calvary. Calvary has been much more to me than just the Well, or Bible studies, or even a local church. It has been a place that has taught me, nurtured me, trusted me, challenged me, and shown me how to be an all inclusive person living out the story of God.

I have been at Calvary since I was 12 years old and it has been quite a ride. From periods where the church was without a Pastor, Music Minister, and College minister all at the same time to now where we are completely debt free, my time at Calvary has always created positive feelings. The last 5 years have been truly special. I moved over to the college ministry and my Calvary youth status didn’t get me very far, but the embrace of upperclassmen and staff sure did. I felt like people genuinely cared about me and took time to get to know me. Freshman bible study gave me an opportunity to start asking questions that before I didn’t know that I could ask. Inside, there was a stirring for me to commit to full time ministry, but I was still young in the thought.

Then the college ministry started to give me leadership responsibility and allowed me to lead freshmen bible studies among other things. A job opened up in the college office and after an intense interview process, I got the job. Looking back, working for and with the college ministry has made me so much better of a person. No longer was doing anything 95% of the way acceptable, but everything had to be done with excellence. That was the motto we held in the office, and I see it resonate from our church in every facet.

As my last month has come at this place that I love so dearly, I have never been so proud of MY Church. The storm hit and our city was rocked. Instead of trembling in fear or cowering in the confusion, we stood strong and did what many to believe were too big of a task. For over 10 days, we staffed a 10 hour convenient-type store to meet any need of those affected and also kept the children of those wanting to help. Alongside this, MY Church was committed to meeting the victim’s needs not only in the first month but for the next few years. Money was raised in MY Church to completely furnish their new homes and to pay their bills for three months. MY Church has become a beacon in the darkness and despair to shine to those in need and is doing whatever it takes to meet the needs. And thus far over 30 families have been moved in by the diligent work of Calvary.

As my time at Calvary comes to a close and Seminary is on the horizon, I could not see a more fitting end to my time here than holding the happiest day in my life in the sanctuary of MY Church. Calvary is much more than the Well, or a college ministry, or a Baptist church on the corner with a lot of members, it is a 100 year old staple in the city of Tuscaloosa that is here for its city and will never grow weary of doing good in the area.