Keep Hoping, Keep Praying, Keep Loving

The interview process is in full swing at WeConnect, and we are gathering some great information and discovering some surprising trends. Perhaps you, like me, assumed that many of those who jettisoned their faith and left the church did so because they were unhappy/angry with the church or with people in the church. Our interviews are showing that largely, this is not the case. Most of these young women are saying that, on the contrary, they have happy associations with church life and fond memories of being raised in the church. Nearly all have added (without prompting) that their moms have been a spiritual role model for them and that they respect their parents for having such a strong, vital faith. This is helpful information to us because for however long these women are estranged from the church and from God, parents who love them and love God may be the only Jesus that they see.One young woman shared about a difficult time she went through in which she had a crisis of faith at the same time as she was having a crisis in her marriage. She ended up leaving the church and turning away from God. She said that through everything her Christian mom has continued to unconditionally love and support her, and that her mother’s loving, non-critical response has kept the door open to returning to God and church at some time in the future.This tells us three things: We need to keep hoping. We need to keep praying. We need to keep loving.By the end of January we’ll have completed nearly a dozen interviews and there are more lined up for February.Thanks for your prayers and support, friends.Kristi, for WeConnect