Church Refresh is a new church experience created to meet you where you are on your spiritual journey and give you hope and tools for transformation.
Think of it as an expansion of online gatherings. Rather than church once a week, our weekly teaching and transformational tools will be available on-demand, seven days a week for you to experience individually, with your family or community together.
Going deeper into transformation
After being together for 13 years, Rommel and Lindsay reached a breaking point in their relationship. “I was very much chasing money and my career and status. My ego and pride had taken control of my life until it blew up our marriage,” says Rommel.
“I was filing for divorce and I thought, ‘I don’t want this to be my story,’” Lindsay remembers.
At their lowest point, Rommel moved towards God and towards community. He even moved to the West Loop so that he could be closer to Soul City. He was baptized in the spring of 2018, went on the Love Works trip to El Salvador that same year, and joined a small group. Eventually, he convinced Lindsay to do a small group with him. “There was a police officer, me ( a hairstylist), a CPS teacher – people from all walks of life and no one’s life had been what you would have thought it was,” she says.
They were able to be open with their small group about what they were going through, and the Mayugas joined another small group after that. “God was working in ways you couldn’t see,” says Lindsay. Transformation was under way.
“I remember early on, I was praying – asking God to heal Lindsay. After I had succumbed to the fact that we were no longer gonna be together, I started praying for God to bless Lindsay,” Rommel says. And Lindsay was on her own journey, too. “I thought erasing him would erase a part of my story but unfortunately, that’s just a part of my story now. I had to decide – am I gonna forgive and be able to have a happy life or do I want to be right and be alone?”
Through counseling, hard work, and the grace of God, Rommel and Lindsay gave their marriage another chance. Their Soul City community was a big part of that. “Having this small group and being able to show up messy … it’s kind of everything,” says Lindsay.
Rommel agrees. “I would say community was the entire theme for 2019 and now it’s expanding further into 2020. It’s vital right now.”
Lindsay and Rommel couldn’t wait to tell their small group this spring when they found out they were expecting a child.
“The past 2.5 years have been a long journey and no one that knew our story in the beginning would think we would be together now and that we’d be bringing a life into this world,” says Rommel. “It’s cool that the things we’ve been through could give other people hope,” Lindsay shares, in awe of their restoration story.
Attach the following prayer to your breath.
As you inhale, fill in the blank with whatever you feel is pressing in on you right now
And as you exhale, ask God for the strength and faith to press on
Take 2-5 minutes to breathe and pray through whatever you are going through
INHALE: God, when _________ presses in
EXHALE: Help me press on
The words of Scripture can be one of our greatest encouragements when life presses in on us. As you move forward through this week and beyond, carve out some time to read and meditate on the following passages about gift of perseverance
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
“My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”
A quick message for those joining us in person this weekend:
Recently, the CDC shared new guidelines for wearing face masks in public and in indoor settings to promote safety in areas with substantial risks of transmission. Therefore, we are requiring that masks are worn while in the building on Sundays.
We are continuously reviewing the CDC guidelines and what our next steps will be – as your safety remains our priority.
