churchfamily

In October 2007, many Owensboro residents were busy cleaning up after the F2 tornado that tore a path
across the city damaging homes, churches, and businesses. Jarrod Carter, an employee with AT&T, was
repairing damaged phone lines in downtown Owensboro when he received a desperate phone call from his
wife. Jarrod’s wife, Carrie, quickly told him to drive home because their house was on fire. Although the
Carter family’s home was spared any storm damage from the tornado, the house proved to be no match for
the fire. Jerrod rushed to his home near Stanley and found flames and black smoke rolling out the backside
of his home. By the time the fire died down and the smoke cleared, the Carters had lost 95% of their
possessions. All that remained was a blackened skeleton of a house, a pole barn garage, and the clothes
the couple and their three children were wearing.

According to Jarrod, “We quickly had to turn from what we didn’t have anymore, to what we did have. We
wanted to get back to a sense of normalcy and stress to the kids that even though we lost the house,
nothing else had changed.”

Carter states that the involvement of the community quickly became apparent in helping his family get back
to “normalcy”. Many local churches donated items such as toys, friends donated clothing items for
everyone in the family, and their credit union even set up a donation box for them. Others provided nightly
meals for a while after the fire. But Jarrod says the one thing that really brought he and Carrie back to
reality was when their church life group came to pray for them at the site of their burned house. Although
Jarrod knew he and his family would be okay as far as physical possessions were concerned, the emotional
impact was something that he could not imagine.

“When you are standing there looking at something you don’t have anymore, you get a sense of
hopelessness, and you have no direction in your life. The group’s prayer gave us the ability to look forward
and take the next steps to go on,” recalled Jarrod.

Indeed, life is always full of unexpected twists and turns. And for the most part, people struggle with these
obstacles, but, as the Carters discovered, a strong church family provides a foundation to rely on during
these life struggles. Reaching out to meet all possible needs, a group from church certainly provides
comfort in times of distress.

In the majority of churches, joining a Sunday school class, life group, or small home group helps to develop
a strong church family. These groups really create a home within a church for people with similar interests or
those in a shared demographic. Groups like these provide the basis for building strong relationships,
allowing members to bond through worship and prayer. During tough times, these people often band
together and lift up those who are hurting as well as those celebrating wonderful life changes. Church
families rally around and support those with new babies, often bringing meals for several weeks. Members
minister to those who are sick, reach out to members who are depressed or hopeless, or, as in the case of
the Carters after their house fire, donate clothing and toys for their children.

Dr. Angus McKinley, Pastor of Discipleship and Mission Advancement at Bellevue Baptist Church, feels
passionately about connecting people to faith-filled small groups where they can love and be loved, serve
and be served, celebrate and be celebrated.

“Jarrod & Carrie's story is a great example of the transforming power of community. We encourage every
one of our Life Groups to help people take their next step in faith. For one person, that might involve
reading their Bible on a daily basis. For another, it might mean sharing their faith with a friend. For
someone else it might mean praying out loud in a group. But one often forgotten way to grow in the faith is
by serving the needs of others around you. It's amazing how our faith is built up when we get outside of
ourselves and serve the needs of others!”

Dr. McKinley is right. Serving others is a blessing. Not only is it wonderful to be able to depend on such a
tightly knit group when enduring hardships, but also it is far more wonderful being able to give and bless
those in our church families during their trials. God blesses us as we minister, too. We are here to serve
and show love to others.

While living with nearby relatives, the Carters are working diligently on building their new home. Although
they aren’t quite through the entire experience, the smoke is finally starting to clear. They are very thankful
for being blessed with everything God has provided. One such blessing is a close-knit church family whose
meals, clothing, toys, visits, phone calls, cards, and prayers helped their family make it through such a trying
time.

Recalling the entire experience, Jarrod claims that everything is great with his family. “We pray every night
as a family for what God has provided and blessed us with as a family”.

For more information on getting involved in a small group in your church, contact your Discipleship Pastor.

Church Family: Real Life Support by Jeff Hendrix