“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, making you mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4

I’ve been wanting to write about our church and every time I’ve gone to write God has done something new and incredible and I’ve had to start over fresh. We’ll see if this draft sticks.

Since coming to Kauai, Simon and I have dreamed about creating a Christian community where we live as a light by our love for one another. While that sounds great on paper, it’s actually really hard to describe and it’s even harder to implement among four people when you can’t get the vision in your head to translate into words that result in action. For months we struggled with how to create that culture with DJ and Rebecca and sometimes it even seemed hopeless, but “trials of many kinds” are what make us mature in the Lord and He uses those circumstances which require perseverance to make it so we are not lacking anything in Him.

Thankfully, sometimes during trials, He uses other people to intervene and guide us back on course. One of the people in ministry we were blessed to fly out laid out exactly the kind of church we wanted to be a part of in a way that all four of us could understand and get behind. Shortly after his visit, some of his church members stayed with us and they shared what that looked like in practice with normal people like us and helped us to see that it was not only possible, but even when it was messy, it was worth it. Through their encouragement we pressed on and began reaching out to others to tell them about what kind of group we hoped to be.

I would like to say that it just took off from there and was perfect and we grew and everything was peachy, but I’d also like to think I’m an honest person so….well, I can’t say that. But I believe God did something even better.

We started with another couple and He began to work in their lives through our body. Whether it was through financial assistance, genuine friendships, or just the knowledge that they were not alone, they became a part of our church and we grew to six. Then God brought some incredible women into our lives from previous friendships and they now round out our core group of nine. We have had visitors, people who have been unable to continue coming, and house guests who have attended while they stayed with us, but usually it’s this common group who meet every Friday night for food and fellowship and it’s been the coolest thing to see.

We’ve only really been meeting since the end of July, so we’re only two months old, but in those two months so many things have happened! We’ve gotten to discuss what we want our church to look and like and what the Bible says about the body of Christ. And every time we have a discussion it seems like the Lord opens doors for us to put those principles into practice almost right away. Surfing accidents, cars breaking down, people getting evicted…I’ve never dealt with so much spiritual warfare in such a short period of time but I know it’s because this is the start of something great and we are prepared to do some battle. Each of these trials is just another way for us to grow more into the people God intended so I am so thankful for these precious people He’s placed in our lives to walk through these trials with us.

As incredible as things have been, we do need your prayers. Most of all for unity. It’s so easy to allow little things to cause divisions, in our marriages and our households and in our body, so unity is of the utmost importance to us. We also need prayers for healing, both physical and emotional. Each of us seems to be hurting in some way and we are trusting God to heal us in His time. And pray for perseverance. While things are going well, it’s easy to say this will last forever, but I’m very aware of how quickly people’s resolve can change when they’re challenged and this type of life together certainly qualifies as a challenge.

I feel like there’s so much more to say and so many stories to share, so please feel free to ask….we love to talk about what God is up to. Through all its ups and downs, I am confident that this church is helping us all to become mature and complete and together, by the grace of God, we won’t be lacking anything.