angie

"The best thing about Flourish is regularly meeting with likeminded women who genuinely want the best for one another and are committed to helping one another grow spiritually. The intentionality of meeting weekly with a structured plan to engage in specific spiritual practices ensures that I actually do the practices rather than just think about them or merely talk about them. The main benefit for me was just the rhythm of meeting weekly. There is something about that ongoing commitment and the relationships in the group that is very beneficial to me."

"I look forward to sharing my heart during Flourish .  I enjoy hearing and learning from others in our group!  It’s a great midweek joyful time.  I pray God keeps growing me through His word and the Flourish experience.  I hope one day when it’s Gods timing, I can lead a Flourish community of women.  I want to help encourage spiritual growth in others and keep the fire of walking with Jesus bright.  Flourish is changing my thoughts and building my self-confidence.  I can't say enough about how much I appreciate the time I get to enjoy with my Flourish community!"

"What I have liked about Flourish is the women and the consistency of the format. It is just enough to challenge me in the spiritual formation exercises but not be overwhelming by the amount of work to be done in order to be prepared appropriately. The women are good examples of how to walk with Jesus through authenticity and honest feedback and contributions.  I've been given new ideas to help me grow.  I would definitely encourage someone to join a Flourish Community, and have!"

"My group includes women from different walks of life and from different kinds of churches. At first, I was anxious that the other women might judge me, but from the beginning they welcomed me warmly and showed me deep, Christlike love. This experience made me feel more open toward others and more trusting and hopeful about relationships across differences. At the time my friend invited me to join Flourish, I had fallen out of the habit of daily prayer. Some ongoing health issues had kept me from going to church regularly for several years. I missed gathering with a community of Christians, and without that weekly worship time it was hard to keep up my relationship with God. Flourish changed that. With the support and encouragement of my Flourish Community, I have been able to start and maintain a daily rhythm of prayer and meditation. God is very present with us in our weekly sessions, and that carries into my personal prayer time.

“God shows up in the most amazing ways when we least expect.”  This is exactly how I feel about my experience with the Flourish Community. It all began with a “chance” meeting of dear friends in a restaurant who I hadn’t seen in years. After reconnecting, Sherry invited me to join in a weekly ladies’ group that focuses on growing their relationship with Christ. I really didn’t know what to expect but I had been praying for something that would deepen my walk with Christ and build relationships with other Christian women. I have participated in multiple seasons of Flourish in the past year and have found them to be spiritually enriching, encouraging, and challenging. The weekly lessons fostered spiritual practices that have helped me to dig deeper into scripture and be more intentional in my walk with the Lord. The mutual encouragement from the ladies in our group has been fundamental in building genuine and authentic relationships. Their encouragement and support have also brought me to the next step in my growth, which is to become a facilitator. This is exciting and challenging in that I want to serve the Lord well. My time with the Flourish Community has been spiritually strengthening, helped me engage in community and blessed me with beautiful friendships. 

Flourish Communities has been my safe place to explore my relationship with Jesus and really understand what my calling is in the Kingdom.  I have seen how the BLESS rhythms have shaped me into a person who is learning to love Jesus with my whole life.  I love helping other women on this journey and seeing the beautiful variety of what God is doing in our lives. My role is to equip women to nurture their own Flourish Communities and facilitate spiritual growth for their network of friends.  I am consistently amazed by the unique gifts and callings that God is developing in our facilitators as they love and serve their communities.  A great picture of the extended family of God!