Brian and Christy Youngers had been driving by Pathway for eight years.They wanted something more meaningful for their family than sporadically attending another church. All it took was an invitation from a familiar face to find what they had been searching for their entire life.
They first walked in the doors about a year ago, when Pathway attendee Emily Emberson invited their daughter to attend AWANA with her daughter. Shortly after,the Embersons invited the family to a Sunday morning service.
“We had been pretty open that we were looking for a different church, so Emily was very open with what it was like and what to expect,” Brian said. “It was just knowing they were going to be there, kind of setting an appointment. It was easy to just show up and they would show us what to do.”
It was different than what they were used to, but they still felt accepted.
“When you go to other churches, you feel like you have to do things a certain way, or there are certain rules you have to follow,” Brian said. “Once we started attending here, we immediately realized, it’s come as you are. The overall goal is to hear the message and become closer to God in your relationship with Him.”
They began to connect with people they already knew, and discovered many families had similar stories. Soon, they had three invitations to attend different Home Teams and have been going to one ever since.
“It’s really great to have people to share your life with,” Christy said. “To share your relationship with Jesus, pray, and just to grow spiritually.”
Their children were also excited to go to church.
“It was great to get in the car after church and our kids are telling us things that they’ve learned,” Christy said. “It’s something that we’ve never had before. They understood why they were there and they took something from it just like we had.”
Christy said she found something at Pathway that she had been searching for her whole life–spiritual growth in community that allows her to take her faith one day at a time.
“I’m really thankful that we were invited to Pathway because it’s really changed our lives,” she said.
“Without them inviting us, we might still be driving by every day thinking, ‘Hey, maybe we should go to church there,'” Brian added. “Thanks for not giving up and sharing what you guys have.”
By Jenae Suderman | Photo by Jim Oertle