Anna Moore

It was my first or second Sunday at a new church. I didn’t know anyone, but through God’s providence I sat beside a friendly woman who introduced me to the pastor at the end of the service. Before I left, I had met multiple people and had been invited to a group event at one of the pastors’ homes the next weekend. So, I chose to go. He seemed nice and I was interested in making friends after moving to a new city and a new state.

I went. I took a chance. I made some friends and actually met my husband, Blake, that very night, but that’s a separate story. I had so much fun and never felt out of place or uncomfortable, even though I’m an introvert who gets completely drained when socializing with people for extended lengths of time, especially new-to-me people or those with personalities opposite mine.

God was doing a lot of new things at this point in my life. Things were changing in the best possible way. The more I attended my new church, the more of God’s people I met and the more I heard His Word preached and saw it lived out. The way God’s Word was taught encouraged me to dig in and learn all I could about Him. It gave me practical things to apply to my life now that I was actually committed to living out my faith. I didn’t feel shameful for my sin, but I did feel a need to know my Savior better so I could truly cling to Him like others around me seemed to do. I was ready to feast on His Word as I started getting tastes of what it was really about.

I took notice on how dedicated Blake was to his church. I mean, he spent evenings hanging out with these church people and even went to service on Sunday nights. (This was in addition to attending the morning service.) I observed his kindness toward other people and how he seemed to know almost everyone. I took mental notes on topics he and others talked about. I noticed how he genuinely cared for other people, even ones he hardly knew. But it wasn’t just him. Everyone did this. Everyone liked people. Everyone liked one another, and when they disagreed, they still talked to each other and were still friends.

God was surrounding me with all of these different people of different backgrounds and at different life stages with many different personalities and interests, but they were all so alike. They seemed content and happy. Joyful. They seemed almost like extended family at a reunion, except they see each other a lot more often. While they were different, they all loved Jesus and one another.

John 13:25 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

It did not take long for me to realize these people were Jesus people. The real deal. Not Christmas-and-Easter-only Jesus people or Sunday-only Jesus people, but these were His disciples. They walked with Him. Their zeal and adoration for the Lord made me want to invest in my faith more and for real. I wanted to go back to church each week and actually be a part of it. I wanted to read the Bible and actually study what it says. I wanted to serve others, and genuinely have compassion. And all of that is what I did overtime, by grace, following the example of others.

I really mean it when I tell people my husband discipled me. He still does in many ways. But so has so many others God has placed in my life through my local church and beyond. Here’s what I mean:

• One of my dearest friends has shown me what it looks like to seek after God through His Word and hold it as truth.
• My husband’s parents are walking examples of hospitality and Christlike love. They have really invested time in getting to know me over the years and that has been incredible.
• Another great friend lives out what it means to “laugh without fear of the future” (Proverbs 31:25b NLT), teaching me in our conversations and through her life that God holds the future and there’s no need to worry or second guess.
• A favorite writer of mine has shared what cultivating a life of faithfulness to God’s Word looks like, and why it’s so important to hold His Word in our hearts (and minds).
• A sweet friend of recent years constantly demonstrates to me what gentleness looks like.
• My boss reminds me how marriage and parenting are a daily dying of self.
• My pastor and other faithful teachers of the Word have taught me how to study the Holy Bible, what it’s truly about, and how that relates to me.
• And so many more!

I don’t want to think of where I’d be without God leading me to that particular city in that particular state with that particular church and those specific people and all the people since. I know it wasn’t easy on my family when I moved, but I will never regret being obedient to God’s plans for me, for saying “yes” a few times early on that ultimately changed to course of my church experience and life. All of it has drawn me closer to Him and shaped me into who I am today.

Now I hope others see me as the real deal, as one of His disciples. That’s all I ever hope to be.

In his book The Loveliest Place, Dustin Benge wrote, “Nothing in the world is dearer to God’s heart than his church; therefore, being his, let us also belong to it, that by our prayers, our gifts, and our labours, we may support and strengthen it.”

It’s so important for believers to physically GO to a local church, be under faithful preaching of God’s Word and to fellowship and worship with God’s people (in person if possible!). It’s also so important for believers to BE the Church. Belong to it. Invite new people to your event. Make others feel welcome. Show Christ to them in who you are and how you love your neighbors and family. Live unapologetically set apart from the world so that others can see there’s something different about you. When your love for Christ overflows into your life, it’s contagious. So by being the Church, by showing up and following Christ with all we have, we are making disciples. By investing in people who come to our churches or move into our communities or talk to us, we are fanning into flame even the smallest spark in someone else.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20