Today we welcomed a bunch of new members. Cool people with great stories of Christ’s redemptive work in their lives. Here are two pics.
Shirley and Connie McMath and Emily Walker

Secret Church is a 6-hour intensive Bible study meeting from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.  On Good Friday–April 6–we are participating in a simulcast experience called Secret Church.

Secret Church is a time where we join together to study God’s Word and to identify with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted in countless places around the world.

Secret Church is a 6-hour intensive Bible study meeting from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Because of the length of the meeting, and the late hour, childcare is not available.

Stay tuned to the blog for more information.

Sunday we’ll baptize Michelle Clarkson. Here is her story.

I like plans. If you walk into my room, you’ll see post its everywhere with lists and schedules because I like to feel I have control of what I am doing. However, coming to Florida was never part of my plan. When people ask me why I came from New York to Gainesville for school, I always feel like they are expecting a really good answer, but the truth is I don’t have one. The only reason I can think of as of why I ended up in this emptiness of a city at a school dominated by football is that God put me here to find Him.

When I was eleven I figured that God had simply forgotten about me because I was not good enough for any father to love. I hid from Him because to me this seemed easier than accepting that He had allowed my life to turn into what it had become. I was angry not because of the pain I was feeling, but because of how much my family was suffering and I refused to believe it had any purpose. When my Grandmother died a week after my younger sister was diagnosed with cancer, any bit of faith I did have was lost. No one in my family is saved, so it was not hard to exile God from my life. For years I lived just trying to make it to the next day, simply existing and pushing forward. Part of me never thought I would make it to college, and the other part of me knew that if I did, I would need to stay home so I could continue to raise my younger siblings. They were the light in my life and the only ones that kept me going when all I wanted to do was give up.

When it came time to apply to colleges, my grandparents who live in Florida told me I had to apply to one in the same state at them. Because I never imagined going that far from home, I googled “universities in Florida” and picked the first one that appeared. I spent a total of thirty minutes working on the application, not even rereading my essay, and hit submit. I really do not know what happened in between that moment and the day I agreed to come here; I know there were pro and cons lists involved and multiple panic attacks but through it all, the only school I saw myself going to was the one that was two miles from my house.

As cliché as it is coming from a freshman, my first weeks here were miserable. Every minute all I thought about was how much of a mistake I made and how badly I needed to be home. The first time my brother called and begged me to come back to him, I started packing my boxes. During the midst of my packing frenzy, Brooke, who lived two doors down from me came into my room and asked me if I wanted to go to RUF that night with her. Although we had talked about it before I said no because I thought that I was too much of a mess and not enough of a Christian. I guess that wasn’t a good enough answer for her as she got my shoes from the closet and pulled me out the door with her. As we reached the building where it was held I panicked, there were too many people and too many opportunities for them to judge me. Although I cried throughout most of the message, the words touched my soul and changed everything about me. I do not know any way to describe how much my life changed since that night, all I know is that for the first time I kind of understand a tiny part of God’s plan, and see why I needed to be here in Gainesville; for finding Him literally saved my life.

I could sit here and ramble about how good God is, but the truth is, I am still discovering that for myself each day. As I read through the Bible, each story is new and each verse embeds itself in my heart in a different way. While there are days where my faith may waiver I know with every fiber of my being that Jesus Christ is my savior and it is for Him that I want to live my life. Without Him, I would be nothing, nor would I have made it through those years when every day seemed like a struggle. Although it was impossible to see at the time, I know now that I had to be as broken as I was so that He could put me back together the right way and make me the person I am today, and for that I owe every part of my life.