.
Two community churches come together to fellowship under one God, one roof
In such a giving community, like Dripping Springs, it should come as no surprise that the spiritual community is equally gratuitous.
What began as “house church” fellowship about eight years ago for the members of Hill Country Christian Fellowship, has grown into a full scale church service now in need of some extra elbow room.
Grateful for the space that directors of Your Growing Child learning facility allowed them to borrow on Sundays until now, one of the church’s members, Eric Blakey, said, “We feel very blessed with this opportunity,” about Community Fellowship’s invitation to share their facility.
Mike Peden of Community Fellowship said their congregation shared similar struggles of acquiring space when they were beginning to fellowship. They understood what they were going through, and it was God’s will that they open their facility to their church neighbors.
The collaborative venture between the two churches does take some organizing, and they are both open about working through any growing pains they encounter along the way.
Ultimately, Peden explained, it’s all about bringing God into the community.
“We’re committed to each other and to grow Jesus in this community,” Peden said.
Members of both churches acknowledged their beliefs to be similar. Where they were different, only afforded the opportunity to reach more people, because not everyone fellowships in the same manner.
With that in mind, scheduling of the two church’s Sunday services was divided into a morning worship service and an evening service.
Peden said the congregation of Community Fellowship agreed to move their worship service into the evening, allowing Hill Country Christian Fellowship to worship in the morning. Nothing has changed for the churches, except location for one, and the meeting time of the other.
Members of both churches are also excited about the opportunities that can stem from this spiritual alliance. There are organizations in the community they can help. They both have been wanting to offer a Hispanic service. But mostly, both churches are open to God’s direction for their union. After all, it is that openness that brought them together under one roof.
As Kristi Greene of Hill Country Christian Fellowship explained, “We want to be open and flexible to the community and make the effort to try not to get stuck in tradition.”
In a Christ-centered fellowship, many plans are restructured or services are rewritten or actions are redirected, all to accommodated God’s will. That is how these two churches have operated and will go forward together in spirit. There is no push or pull for new members or competition for a better service. Only God’s will.
“We’re not dissimilar in what we do,” Peden said.
This past Sunday was the first time the churches offered their services under this spiritual collaboration. Hill Country Christian Fellowship meets in the morning beginning at 9 a.m. with Bible Class, and Community Fellowship meets in the evening beginning at 5 p.m.
“I think it’s going to be awesome,” said Blakey.
The churches meet at the Community Fellowship building at 264 American Way off of Hwy. 290.
Information about the churches can be found on their websites at www.hccf.net and www.dscfyeslord.com.
