At 10 years old, after 4 years in private Christian schools, I renounced organized religion.\u00a0 I didn’t attend a church service for 20 years.\u00a0 And then only because I was dating my, now, husband and his family invited us to\u00a0Easter service at BCC.\u00a0 Wanting to get on mom’s good side I begrudgingly went.\u00a0 That experience was\u00a0not what I’d expected.\u00a0 I actually enjoyed it!\u00a0 But we didn’t go back.\u00a0 Bellevue was too far we told ourselves.\u00a0 In reality our Saturday nights didn’t accommodate Sunday mornings.<\/p>\n
Fast forward 5 years, marriage and 2 kids later,\u00a0we were looking for a church\u00a0to try and heard that the pastor who’d captured our attention years before\u00a0had started a new church in our own backyard!\u00a0\u00a0We’ve been\u00a0a part of The Gathering\u00a0ever since.<\/p>\n
To have our kids experience church in a way we never did at their age has been a true blessing.\u00a0 To have been fortunate enough to have had our lives intersect with what Pastor Dave and Paula created is valuable beyond measure.\u00a0 I am forever changed because of them.\u00a0 I no longer observe my faith in God quietly and pray alone, assuming I’d be thought of as a hypocrite because I’m not what I was taught a Christian should be.\u00a0 Now I pray out loud, talk about my relationship with Christ whenever the mood strikes and confidently tell the broken that they are loved by our Savior as they are.<\/p>\n
Thank you Pastor Dave for changing my life, for changing me.\u00a0 I will never forget the things I learned from you on Sunday mornings and will share your message with others the rest of my days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At 10 years old, after 4 years in private Christian schools, I renounced organized religion.\u00a0 I didn’t attend a church service for 20 years.\u00a0 And then only because I was dating my, now, husband and his family invited us to\u00a0Easter (…)<\/p>\n