Living the Gospel in Everyday Life: A Harbour Community Church Story
Harbour Community Church, a Fellowship Pacific church plant that launched in 2022, exists to live the Gospel in everyday life. Not primarily through programs or events, but through relationships - ordinary people responding to Jesus in ordinary places. Harbour believes every instance of brokenness and injustice is an opportunity for the Kingdom of God to be made visible today.
The following testimony, shared by a woman from the Harbour community in Nanaimo, offers a glimpse of what that looks like in real life.
Retirement. Time to slow down the pace of daily life. Freedom to pursue old hobbies and explore new ones. Dreams of travel both near and far. Downsizing or moving, perhaps closer to the grandchildren. Those were our plans as we approached retirement a few years ago. God had opened all the doors to make that possible for us at age 60 – something we had hoped for since my successful battle with breast cancer five years earlier.
And then came March 2022, less than 6 months before retirement for my husband and I. We were wakened by screaming, shouting and banging from downstairs where our 26 year old son lived. Concerned that he was in the midst of a terrible nightmare, we rushed down to find him fully awake and frantic. Voices were tormenting his mind, paranoia was evident, and it became clear to us that he was having a full psychotic break with reality.
It would take ten months of watching him check under furniture, behind pictures and inside walls for speakers; ten months of yelling at the other voices to stop; ten months of paranoia and anger – and not just one fist through our walls; ten months of him not understanding that this was a disease and not some nefarious force out to get him. It would take ten months before he was hospitalized and finally diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Our plans for retirement changed in an instant. But looking back, I am amazed at what terrible things God has still been able to use for my good and His glory. For instance, we had left a big church not long before, one where my family had been members and active in leadership for four generations. It was not an easy move, but necessary in the face of unchallenged sin in leadership and defiance in the face of godly correction. (Another story of God’s leading...) We eventually started meeting with others who were also yearning for authentic faith, caring community and had a deep desire to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. That small group became Harbour Community (a church plant of Fellowship Pacific) – but more importantly, they became my sounding board, my prayer warriors, the in-person reminder of God’s unchanging character in the middle of my nightmare circumstances.
It has been almost four years, and I would love to be able to tell you that our son’s symptoms are under control through medication. But his psychosis has been drug-resistant, and the medications effectiveness inhibited by substance use. But God...
But God has been doing a work in me, changing me in ways that I don’t believe would have been possible otherwise. When all is stripped away, HE is still there. When “I’m fine” is no longer the answer to a casual “How are you?” When each day holds a challenge you can’t prepare for. When you’ve spent years between the request and the answer to your prayers. When planning is a lost cause. When your heart’s longing is still on hold. That is when Jesus shines. That is when your soul can hear the Spirit speaking. That is when God is still working.
He is at work in me...
I have been a Christian since I was a little girl and gave my heart to Jesus at DVBS. But now I am a disciple of Jesus, wanting only to follow in His footsteps. Jesus saw those – like my son and his friends – who were tormented, socially unacceptable, uncomfortable and even sometimes unsafe to be around. Jesus saw the sick, the homeless, the forgotten, the slaves, the women, the children. And He cared. How can I do less? I can no longer pass on the other side of the street (and believe me, I did!) pretending they don’t exist. You see, that could be MY son. Jesus has changed my heart. He has used my circumstances – heartbreaking as they are - to help me see through His eyes. It’s why I’m on a first name basis with a regular who sits outside of Walmart with his sign and basket of belongings. “Cam” is somebody’s son, he is more than his homelessness – he is loved by God, and Jesus wouldn’t have ignored him. (On our shared errand days, my sister has gotten used to my “I’ll meet you inside” comments while I check in with Cam :) Nothing major or sainthood-worthy happens here. Just compassion, dignity, and a genuine desire to connect with kindness. To do as Jesus would do.
My out of town coffee date with a friend ended in a similar way. As we exited the coffee shop – long after dark because we had so much to catch up on – I noticed a young adult across the parking lot struggling in ways I was familiar with because of our son. Jerky movements, talking and arguing with someone not there, belongings in a backpack at her side. I don’t even remember deciding to go and meet her. In an instant I was headed across the parking lot, and she was headed towards me, calm now that I had met her eyes. (My friend later asked me how I knew it was safe. The truth is, I didn’t even think about it. But I’ve had several years of experiencing both safe and volatile situations with our son, and the warning signs weren’t there.) “Luna” couldn’t accept simple coffee money because she had been banned from the shop – but I hadn’t been. A coffee and bagel later, I put my hand on her shoulder and said “My son struggles like you do. It’s not easy.” There is no easy fix, no simple solution – and platitudes are the last thing any of us need when we’re hurting. But care, compassion, dignity, kindness – those things matter. Those are the things that Jesus offered during His ministry years. He offers them now.
Let me be clear – this is not a challenge to walk up to any and all people experiencing homelessness and mental illness. Your situation is not the same as mine. God has been with you in different circumstances, given you different experiences, placed you a different sphere of influence. In my life, He has used my unwilling learning about psychosis, schizophrenia, hallucinations, paranoia, drug use, homelessness – as well as knowledge of those agencies and people who seek to help the caregivers of those who suffer – God has used all of that to break my heart and open my eyes to those needs.
Where has He placed you? Perhaps you’re a professional with business associates, a parent with young children or aging loved ones. Have you experienced the grief of divorce, death, or life-changing disease? You are here for such a time as this. Right now. Right where you are. It doesn’t take an outreach committee, task force or special focus group to follow Jesus’ call. It only takes you – open to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, refusing to look away from the need, and willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus right where you are.
Kathy
