As a community, we are spending the final two weeks of venture celebrating people's stories and what venture has meant to them. We will be hearing from many different people who all have different stories to tell.
The thing is, though, that we would like to hear everyone's stories, not just those who will be sharing on stage. This post is your personal invitation to share your story with the rest of the community. Each voice is important.
Please post your individual story in the comments. Share how you found venture in the first place, what draws you to it each week, why you come or why you serve.
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2 comments:
I'm not sure if my story is interesting but here I go.
I was asked to go to Venture 3 years ago with a certain someone. As social and talkative as I am, I have a difficult time being in an environment that I am not completely comfortable in, especially church for some reason. I felt like a 8 year old in a sea of grown ups that were staring at me thinking, "Shouldn't she be in her Youth Group?" Of course that was all in my head, and once I stopped caring about what I THOUGHT people were thinking, I realized how excepted and loved I felt by the Venture goers.
Honestly what drew me in to Venture was the cool band and the fact that Barak was the funniest guy ever. I thought it was such a cool church with it's stylish people, the candles and the pieces of art scattered around the room. I felt at home, like it was made for me.
But aside from the laugh attacks I would have, each message I heard would stir something deep within me. At Venture I learned how to go to my quite place, give praise to God, and sing songs of worship to Him. Not for anyone else, just for Him.
Still to this day, what I like about Venture is the genuine friendships I've made and the fact that I take something from each sermin. Someone once said that "churches are like flavors of ice cream...you gotta find the flavor YOU like." Venture if my favorite flavor and the flavor that works for me best. It works for me because each speaker, whether that be Jodie, Paul and (now) Chris doesn't just talk about the basic stuff I've heard a million times before. Chris is a great asset and Pastor because he doesn't just skim the surface, he digs deep, humbles himself, treats us as a community and teaches us how to live like our Savior.
I asked to be a volunteer over a year ago because I wanted to give back to a community that has given back to me. Because I've been an attendee for over 3 years I've seen Venture go through changes and adjustments. I trust the leaders at Crosswinds and Venture and know that no matter what direction they take Venture, it will be beautiful.
Well that's my Venture story.
p.s. Faye does a lot of hard work for Venture and she deserves a hug next time you see her.
Becca and I have been a part of the Venture community for almost 2.5 years. We wanted to share with you our Venture story:
We got married in June 2005 and moved out here in October to start our life together. We came out here not knowing anyone and were eager to find new friends and a new church. We were very involved and connected with a church back at the University of Illinois. I led a small group for several years and Becca sang in the worship band. Apart from being a place where we grew spiritually closer to God, we met some of our closest friends through this group, friends with whom we lived life.
Once here in California, we started visiting churches. We checked out a few, however, we had a difficult time meeting and connecting with other couples and singles in our same stage of life.
I started working at the lab, and jumped right into the weekly ultimate games there (I had my priorities!). Through this group I met someone many of you know affectionately as Chicago Dave. We got to talking and he mentioned that there was a group that met Sunday nights at Crosswinds called Venture. Becca and I decided to check it out and immediately knew we had found something special. We connected right away with the authentic worship and teaching because it was similar to what we had in college. Just as importantly, we met other people our age that we felt we could relate to.
As we continued to come and get involved, one of the big things for us was to be living out our lives with others from church. Not just showing up on Sundays and catching up for 20 minutes and then leaving. We started talking to other couples and singles our age and found that they all had a similar desire. So in the spring we started a small group with around 12 people, comprised of both couples and singles, and at similar stages of life. Through that time we have been able to grow spiritually and have the real and vulnerable friendships we were looking for.
As Venture is growing and relaunching in a few weeks, our challenge to you is to take that next step and get involved outside of just Sunday nights. Start hanging out at the different social gatherings. And more importantly, find people around you who would be interested in meeting together and start a small group. As we have seen in our lives, it is so important to have that time and friendships where you can be completely vulnerable and challenged to live more completely for God.
And that is how Venture has impacted our lives.
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