Sarah's Story

Hi, my name's Sarah. I recently graduated from UMass, I live in Hadley now, and I really love this church family.

I've been coming to Mercyhouse since 2003. I was a freshman then, 18 years old and I had grown up not knowing Jesus. In the first few weeks of school that fall I met some Christians who befriended me and told me about their relationship with Christ, brought me to Bible study, and took me to Mercyhouse with them. Eventually, through those relationships, I became a Christian.

Over the next few years I saw Mercyhouse go through some awesome changes, but I didn't feel like I was actually a part of it.

I didn't really feel like I was a member of the church because I was only in Amherst during the semesters, then I went back home near Boston during the winter break and summer. I thought of Mercyhouse as the church I went to while at college.

It wasn't until fall 2006 that I decided I wanted to get involved and see what more there was to being part of a church.  I realized that although I went every Sunday and saw most of the same people, I didn't know anyone besides my little group of friends that I always sat with.

So one Sunday Robert talked about house churches starting that week, and introduced all the house church leaders. I was unsure what it meant to have church in someone's house, but I was intrigued by the idea of meeting some people outside of the regular Sunday morning church service. Plus, these house churches happen on different days of the week and I figured my schedule wasn't so crazy that I couldn't devote one evening to getting to know some new people and study the Word together.

That Wednesday night I decided to go to Nate and Sarah Cartel's house, and I was terrified. Driving there I thought "What am I doing? I don't even know these people and I'm going to their house!" but my fears were gone moments after entering their house. They were all so welcoming and friendly. And I got to meet a small group of people who I had previously known only by face; we ate dinner together, sat in the living room and talked about Sunday's message, shared prayer requests, and began to form friendships. Over time, I felt like I belonged there.

I started meeting once a week with Sarah and she encouraged me in my decision to get baptized that December. I started to feel like I was a real member of the church then.

I found that these Mercyhousers were a pretty cool group of people, and were very welcoming to newcomers and genuinely care about each other.  I was so glad that I had taken that first step in becoming a member of this community, this family, in a deeper way.
I wanted to get more involved, so I signed up for a Saturday volunteer service project, I helped out with the Halloween weekend Free Rides, and I went on the spring break trip to New Orleans. I got to make some more friendships with people. And I found that I actually enjoyed helping out on Sunday mornings, even if it was something as simple as setting up the chairs or greeting or doing dishes after lunch or clicking the presentation slides. It seems that participating in that way made me feel necessary, like I had a responsibility to the church, however small it was.

And I learned that "church" is not just the building, or what happens on Sunday morning, it's not something you go to; it's something you are. It is a community of believers. The church is a body made up of many parts, and I was finally acting like I was a part that belonged to the body.

The more I involved myself in this family, the closer I became to God. I really think He is pleased when He sees us joining together in His Name, even if it is just to hang out and have fun. I've made some awesome friendships within this church, and one thing I notice that we have in common is that we all deeply desire that love and unity that comes from a relationship with Christ and with fellow believers. Having good friendships within the church teaches us about God, who He is, and who He intends for us to be.

House church is a great place to start building these friendships. Currently I am in the Wednesday night women's house church and we're doing the Five Aspects of Woman study which is teaching us how to become women of God based on what the Bible says about womanhood. I really love the fellowship I have with the other ladies, and I have definitely grown in my relationship with God through that.

So for those of you who come to Mercyhouse and just want something more, I would really encourage you to check out a house church this week, or offer to help on Sunday morning. Talk to somebody: if you'd like to volunteer at the hardcore shows you can see Nate, or help with childcare on Sunday mornings- talk to Sara Evans or Sarah Cartel, or if you are musically talented and have an interest in joining the worship team Cindy can answer your questions, if you want to do something fun- talk to me! Mercyhouse has various weekend projects and we take spring break each year to travel somewhere warmer and serve others.

There are a million ways to volunteer and get involved and get to meet some people. And I think you'll find out, like I did, that this is your church. You are a member of this body, this family that worships God together and builds each other up and serves each other and loves each other. I don't want anyone to miss out on the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this fellowship.
Thank you!