How we found Briarwood

Many, many years ago, we were a young married couple with two small children and one baby. We were new to the area and needed a church but were unable to find something that really felt like a good fit for us. It’s hard to describe what we were looking for, we didn’t have an agenda or any sort of idea of what we wanted in a church home, but we sure knew what we didn’t want. We had visited a few churches, one at the recommendation or our neighbor. We went with her a few weeks, but we knew it wasn’t right for us. There was a strong emphasis on a lot of aesthetics and not much on the Word. It would have been a great support group if we needed therapy!

My wife and I had both grown up in churches, so we knew it was something we wanted for our children as well. The kids were a large motivating factor for us, and we both knew that a church family, a true FAMILY is what we wanted to be a part of. Being a part of a church family means that your kids grow up with a lot of people who, while not related by blood, are more of your family than your actual family members. We knew we wanted something like that, but we also knew that we were likely expecting way too much.

We continued to try about other churches, but like Goldilocks it was just too big, or too informal, or too formal! Or not Biblical, or just a motivational speaker.

Our children weren’t in school yet, and we had a strong desire to get them into more social environments for their emotional development. My son had shown some natural baseball talent, so I was looking into several T-ball programs around the area. That turned out to be a more difficult task than I had originally expected. Most of the programs were very serious and closed to new people. It was discouraging. We had several needs as a family, and we had no prospects for fulfilling those needs

Then one day there was a knock at our door.

I answered and there was a sweet lady handing out fliers for a T-ball team they were starting up. She and her husband had just moved into the neighborhood, and he was the new pastor at a small church. She asked if I would be interested, and I jumped at the opportunity.

My son and I showed up at the small field behind the church. Out in the field was a group or ragtag boys and girls who were just learning the very basic fundamentals of baseball. I was extremely impressed with the men who were coaching. They truly cared about the kids. They were nice! They wanted the kids to learn. It wasn’t about winning, it was about learning and developing your skills. I was very pleased and more than a little surprised because all my previous experiences had been the opposite of the environment they were creating.

I asked if the church also had a softball team and if I could come out and play with them. They said they did and soon I was out there with the men from the church. I mostly kept to myself, but if you know anything about Briarwood, you know that you just can’t do that.

I spent quite a bit of time talking to the youth pastor about the church. He was so genuine, so pure in his words. There was no agenda, no plan. He just cared. He cared about me and he cared about my family. He deeply cared and he didn’t know me at all. He asked if we would come on Sunday and visit. I told him I would think about it, not sure whether we would or not.

When we showed up that Sunday, we were a little late getting there, the first person we saw when we walked in was that youth pastor. I’ll never forget this, he put his hands over his heart and greeted us like we were his long lost relatives who were hopelessly lost. We have never left.

This church has become our family.

Those kids on the baseball field? I’ve watched all of them grow up and have had a big part in the development of many of their lives.

Those men on the softball team? Some of the best friends I will ever know.

Many churches say they are a family, but Briarwood lives it every day, every week, every month and every hour. Year in and year out. SO many people have come and gone over the years, but I keep in touch with a vast majority of them because they are still my church family.

Our children have grown up together, our families eat together, after church we stand around and talk for hours because that’s just what we do. We usually have to be pushed out of the church because we enjoy spending time together that much.

It’s been 17 or 18 years, and nothing has changed over that time. The family has grown, and we are better for it.

Looking back at that knock on our door, that knock was God taking care of me and my family. I am so blessed to be a part of this church family.