Calling In Community

Community was where I found my call to ministry. It was participating in Bible Studies at Mississippi State’s Wesley Foundation where I saw God breathing life through scripture. It was one of my roommates who first told me, “Aislinn, you’re a pastor.” It was in my seminary  community that I learned discernment and spiritual disciplines. And it was the summer I worked with 6 other young adults, in a local church that served weekly meals to 300 members of the Asheville community, while living in a retirement home, and sharing meals with retired missionaries and deaconesses, that I knew God had called me into ministry in the local church. 

Community is a vital part of our walk with God. Jesus chose 12 disciples to share his time with. When Jesus sent out the 72, he sent them in pairs to make a home with someone in the town they entered. Paul traveled with Barnabas, Priscilla and Aquila, and Timothy.  When Jesus revealed himself, it was in community.  He provided the wine for the wedding at Cana. He fed 5000 men outside Caesarea. On the night that Jesus gave himself up for us, he gathered around the table with his friends. After the resurrection, when Jesus forgave Peter,  he cooked the disciples breakfast. There is something sacred about preparing a meal together, gathering around the table, and sharing about life with the only agenda being to grow deeper together.  

This summer, the interns at Columbus First will gather each morning for prayer.  We will study scripture together, making room for God to breathe new life into our spiritual lives. We will enter periods of discernment together, seeking to understand what God has in store for us and for the church. We will prepare and share meals with each other and with members of the congregation. All of this, we will do to grow deeper in faith and to encounter Christ in one another, and our community.