by Pastor Joel Lawler

We all want to belong to something bigger than ourselves.

I have been a part of churches since birth. I have had a passion for church and am an ordained pastor. Through all of this, I have heard of many churches that have split or just fell apart. Usually it is over some people's strong preferences rather than a critical issue. There are countless church split stories out there.

I have had the opportunity to be a part of something that is what I believe to be extremely unique. About a year ago, the church that I am a part of went through some difficult times. There were personality conflicts with some of the members and some of the church leadership. A good portion of the members decided to leave. Our church was hurting. Our pastor spent a great deal of time in prayer and came to us with an idea that I had never heard of. He had built a friendship with another pastor in our town. This pastor was a younger guy who was about a year into planting a church in our city. Our pastor felt that God wanted the two churches to come together and for one.

We had about six months of meetings and talks to work through the details. At the first meeting I knew that this was the right thing to do. After meeting the people from the other church, they just seemed like family.

One of the people that impressed me right from our first meeting was the children's pastor. I have four kids. He got down, looked them in the eye and introduced himself to them first. His love for kids was clearly demonstrated by the way he greeted them.

My oldest son who is nine has always struggled in church. Like most boys, he has a hard time sitting still and listening. Most Sundays, his teacher would come get me and he would have to stay with me during the service in order to stay out of trouble.

God has done an amazing thing for us. There have been many great stories of His working through this merge.

After our church merger, something changed in my son. He wanted to go to his class. He liked being with the other kids. One Sunday on our way home, he said that he was going to bring money that he had in his bank and give it all to the church. Half the money belonged to his little brother who did not like his idea at all.

What changed for him was that he went from being a kid in a Sunday school class to really belonging to something. He was asked to be a part of what was

going on. The leaders took time to listen to him. The other kids told him they liked him and showed him friendship.

He has found a place where he belongs and sees church as something he can be a part of and contribute to.

We all want to find a community where we have a role and where we belong. The first church met in people's homes and was very informal. The gatherings were small so it was easy for people to be noticed, needed and loved. Today's churches tend to be much bigger and impersonal and people get lost in the crowd.

I hope my son grows into a church leader who caries with him what he has found in our church. 
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