E, Myself, and I: My Church

This morning, I signed on to Kelly's Korner and realized today is Show Us Your Life: Your Church. I wasn't really prepared for this, so I don't have tons of pictures or novel things to say... But, I do love my church. So, I wanted to share.

Jeff and I have been attending Christ Our Redeemer (COR) for about three and a half years now.

It's actually kind-of funny how we first started going there... Before we got married, we were attending a bigger non-denominational church in Roanoke that we also loved. The church was so big; however, that we couldn't get the minister or the facility for our wedding date... So, we began a search for someone else. A friend recommended Tom - a former associate pastor who was in the early stages of starting a new church in Roanoke. I emailed him on a whim, and a few weeks later we were sitting in his living room drinking coffee and talking about marriage. The entire time we were doing pre-marital counseling etc., Tom kept us updated on the progress of his new church, but we never felt pressure to attend. He did an awesome job at our ceremony in June, and then we went our own ways... Later that year, in October, we decided we "owed it" to Tom to check out his church. So, we showed up one Sunday morning. And... the rest, as they say, is history...

There are a lot of things I love about our church. Initially, we were attracted to its smaller size and significant population of young adults. Those things are still important; but as the church has grown and our lives have changed, we are also very thankful for the diversity of age groups and places in life and the way that the church has embraced us and loved us like family.

Today, I love that I can wear jeans to church, Tom's teaching, our Wednesday night "COR" group, the worship, the church's heart for the community, and most importantly that the focus is always JESUS.

Here's a little "About Us" from their website:

Christ our Redeemer (COR) is something new and a little different…yet firmly rooted in something holy and ancient. We want to do church and do life intentionally, thoughtfully, and well.

We may not look like a lot of other churches. We’re not trying to have “a look” at all. Simply put, we love Jesus and we know that He loves us. We are striving to follow Him and put His teachings into practice…not alone, but together…in community. We are a missional church. Our orientation is outward-focused:

Our community rubbing shoulders with, and engaging, the community that we live in - the Roanoke Valley.