Why It's Called a Faith "Journey"

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Written by Jen Evans Jen Evans

I began a new ministry journey that afforded me the opportunity to serve and grow in one congregation and yet physically live and connect with my home congregation.  This opportunity is one that not very many people get – to simultaneously have two very different but both positive church bodies from which to learn and grow.  One was very conservative and unintentionally “run” by a specific group.  Things were a little lopsided but upon closer inspection those that “ran” the church were the ones who showed up to make church happen.  I paid attention to that group dynamic.  The other congregation was considered a “purple church”, a place where scripture can be read and proclaimed and individuals in the congregation wrestle with what God might be saying to them from it.  The congregation isn’t looking for someone to always affirm what they individually believe.  Instead, they receive what God might be saying through the pastor or teacher and then wrestle with it individually and within a small group.  There are people who are more “red” and people who are more “blue” in the same space, and they clearly articulate that unity is not the same as uniformity.  We are united but not all the same.

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