“I am still learning and loving Jesus more each day, through each service, through each conversation, and through each Grace Group…. I knew Jesus must be pretty important, but I didn’t realize just how important.”

I live next door to the Pickerington Campus, but I had never gone out of my comfort zone to attend a new church. I was scared! I was nervous! I thought, “Maybe when I walk through the doors, I’ll get some sideways glances as if to say, ‘who’s that new girl? She doesn’t go here.’” But instead, I was met with “welcomes” and coffee! During that first service, Pastor Jake said the one thing that I needed to hear: being spiritual and believing are not meant to be played like a solo sport. It should be done in community, like a family, because we are all brothers and sisters through Christ. I’ve gone to Grace ever since.

I truly needed this church and these people to be a part of my life at the exact moment they entered. My family has been blessed by the church, my children look forward to attending (my 3-year-old tells me “God does big things mommy!”), and I’ve been baptized.

Originally I came to know Him simply from hearing “Jesus dies for our sins.” I knew Jesus must be pretty important, but I didn’t realize just how important. I also used to think that Jesus wanted “perfect,” but now I understand that He balances grace and truth, and it’s through that lens that I’m coming to know Jesus more each day. I am still learning and loving Jesus more each day, through each service, through each conversation, and through each Grace Group. I also find that I now have the desire to daily ask myself, “What would Jesus do?”