My experience of church was not a good one in my earliest years. The churches I attended as a young child did not preach the gospel and I found the Sunday service to be the most dreaded hour of my week.

When I was 13 years old, I stumbled across a youth barbecue and decided to attend. Initially, struck by the friendliness of those around me, I could not understand why these people were being so nice. That evening, after dinner was finished, I heard the life-giving gospel for the first time in my life. The Holy Spirit compelled me, and saying yes to Jesus and inviting Him into my heart was the only way I could respond. I returned home and proudly announced to my non-Christian family that I had become a Christian.

That same year brought one challenge after another. My parents divorced and my mum remarried in the same year. My grandmother, who I'd been close to, passed away. I couldn't understand why life was getting so difficult all of a sudden. There were moments when my sorrow and depression were so great I could barely breath. I felt I was in an emotional prison. The only thing I knew to do was cry out to God and ask Him to help me.

This prayer was answered in tremendous ways. My youth group became my Christian family and spent endless hours praying with me, crying with me, and eventually rejoicing with me when God brought healing to my wounded heart. The Lord brought me such comfort and peace in my times of prayer and continued to put people in my life to help me through those difficult times.

I found that God brought light into the dark places in my life. Whether it was a meaningful worship time, a long talk with a trusted friend, or time spent in scripture, the Lord ministered to me in the midst of my brokenness and filled up the hole in my heart with His perfect healing love. It did not all come at once, but was a gradual process through spending time in the Lord's presence with me in my everyday activities. I brought every detail of my life before him in prayer. Nothing was too insignificant. I had found Jesus to be not only a counsellor and healer, but a best friend as well.

In the years that followed, I became involved in various ministries and went on mission trips with my youth group, and later with Share Jesus. Through my involvement with missions, I found that my view of the church came full circle. In my younger years, church was one boring hour of the week to be endured. Years later, I have come to experience church as much more than the meetings or the buildings where the meetings take place.

Church happens wherever two or more believers are gathered together in the name of Jesus. Church happens when Christians eat a meal together or decide to pray for each other while walking in the park. My frame of reference for church has broadened and I've experienced such deep and meaningful relationships within the church. The Lord used the body of Christ to speak to me, and minister to my spirit and ultimately to bring even more healing to the wounded places in my life. Likewise, being able to minister to others in the church with the gifts of the Holy Spirit has been life-giving for me.

It has now been 10 years since that night when I first entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Through all of life's challenges, I have learned that God is with us in the worst and best of times in life. He rejoices with us when things go well and when we fall into the deepest pit he is there to rescue us. He blesses us with the gift that is church. He answers every prayer, provides our every need, forgives all our mistakes, and continually wills for us to know Him more and to be known by Him.

Ashley