Erin Brown was raised attending church in the Richmond area. As she says, “a very strict, traditional church”. One that did not necessarily encourage a loving relationship with God, but instead a fear of God.
So when she was old enough to make the decision for herself to attend, she decided to pull away. To stop attending church altogether.
Erin thought she was living her life just fine without “church”. She married the love of her life, Todd, and together they have a 5-year old son, Tanner.
It was when Tanner was a toddler, that a friend introduced her to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). She searched the internet for groups near her and tried two different ones before trying the MOPs group at New Life. “I loved it. The other two were so overwhelming. But at New Life, it was intimate. I made connections right away,” Erin said.
It wasn’t long before Erin became part of the MOPS leadership team and is now the co-coordinator.
Throughout her first 2-years of involvement, friends from MOPS would gently encourage and invite her to attend Sunday worship. She gracefully declined each time knowing that her past “church” experience was not good. She had no interest.
Finally, Erin accepted the invitation. She told Todd that she was going to try New Life’s worship service and bring Tanner with her. Because neither she nor Todd had a good church experience in the past, she understood if he was not ready to try it again. He encouraged her to go.
Erin loved everything about New Life’s worship service. “The thing that stood out most to me during the service at New Life was the music. I remember getting chills from it and just crying because I finally felt at home where God wanted me to be.” She felt refreshed and ready to dive back in. She joined a Thursday night Life Group and began learning to dig into scripture.
It was the series, “Seven Realities for Experiencing God,” that really changed her life. Erin started to see that Christianity is not just a religion, but a relationship with God. As she opened her study book and her Bible, she felt as though God was sitting right there with her. She knew that He desired a loving relationship with her. And she wanted one with God.
As she reached the chapter on “God Speaks”, Erin felt as though so many questions she had over the years were being answered. Psalm 139:23 (NIV) “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” resonated with her.
This set Erin’s heart on fire. She has committed to building and nurturing a relationship with God. All of her anxieties of reading the Bible have disappeared. Instead she loves digging into scripture and exploring the Bible. Her faith has been renewed.
Learning how to seek God’s will through scripture, prayer and other Christians, has given Erin a chance to draw closer to God.
