I started hosting my own version of Bible studies in my living room. I wanted to connect to my peers in an honest way and share the gospel in a way they could understand. I was finding this really difficult to do in traditional church settings. Many of the members just couldn’t see the vision, and because of their inability to see, it was hard for them to comprehend. I really just wanted to have a conversation with people about everyday life. That is the beauty of Jesus. Although He is God, he was a man. He was relatable. He could be touched, felt. Accessible. He wasn’t afraid of truth, no matter how shameful.
He desired to touch the greedy, the prostitute, the liar, the murderer. Not to comfort them in their actions, but to call them out of their prisons. Jesus wanted to show them the way out. The more I studied and grew closer to Jesus, the more frustrated I became in my local church. It seemed so routine, so staged. Unlike Jesus, it was untouchable, unrelatable, especially if you weren’t raised in traditional church culture. I wanted to reach into my community. Into the gutters, the alleyways, the dark places, and pull my people out. I wanted to carry them to the feet of Jesus and make the way to Him as clear and simple as possible.
Years prior, when I was going through some intense internal struggles, God would show me visions of meetings I would have with women in my living room. It took me years to finally pursue the vision, but I finally held my first meeting in the beginning of 2017. We made vision boards according to a verse in Habakkuk, where the prophet hears an instruction from the Lord that states, “Write the vision and make it plain.”
My vision board was full of strong women. An army. It was full of community organizing and community building. It had images of women singing as they played guitars, and children smiling. The images on that board really helped bring my dreams into focus. Our group met monthly since the beginning of the year. We discussed topics such as freedom and forgiveness while using books, films, and scripture to navigate our understanding. Our April session was on word power. Jesus gave me John 1:1 as a topic. “In the beginning was the word….”
In the beginning there was the word
The beginning of this story was a word
The beginning of an idea is a word
Words have power, life, and direction
The scripture goes on to explain that the beginning of time and life as we understand it was birthed out of the word that left God’s mouth.
And that this word was made flesh in the person of Jesus.
This belief and understanding is critical to the Christian faith.
This is the understanding that prompts the Christian the study the word of God.
Without the word of God, it is impossible for us to know Him.
He is His word.
Without faith we won’t know God, we won’t believe God, and we won’t be able to access His power or new life.
We will get glimpses of the marvelous plans that He has for our lives, but we won’t have the faith or tools necessary to get us there.
I don’t remember being taught this lesson in church as a small child. I mean I remember Jesus loves me, I remembered He died for my sins, I remembered He had the world in His hands. I didn’t understand what that meant, though they were words. Lifeless void, or at least I perceived it that way as a small child. I didn’t understand the connection between Jesus and the Bible and God. I didn’t get how all these things worked together. I guess it would have been a lot for a kid to try to comprehend if it was all given to me then. But still I believed there was a better way. A truer way. A way that was pure, honest, and full of hope and truth, a way that pointed people to Jesus.
That session was especially special. Only two women showed up to this event, but it was different. We sang, we worshiped, we opened our hearts, and in turn, God opened Heaven. He met us in that living room and answered our prayers. I specifically remember asking God to please take care of everything—every little thing that concerned us.
One of the members shared how she saw a vison of a warehouse full of walls where people could write on the wall what they needed, as well as praises to God.