Part 5 – Bringing freedom to others
George and Carolyn are an example of what it looks like to walk in freedom and to help others. This couple’s lives were changed after attending Encounter God. “The Holy Spirit has never ceased working in my life even when I had ceased trying,” says George, whose most significant wounding has been his lack of feeling acceptable. “As I navigate the peaks and valleys of walking with Him, each step has proven to be a growth time for me. I have felt more accepted for just trying hard and failing than if it were perfect.”
Carolyn acknowledges that she can do nothing without the Holy Spirit. “I have become a confident prayer warrior knowing the Holy Spirit is directing my life.”
In this series we’ve been exploring the stages of healing discipleship at CSC. Once we learn how to walk out of brokenness and into freedom (part 4), the next step is tell others based on the healing God has given us through our journey. This will include listening with a new compassion to other people’s brokenness; praying for and with them; supporting them in practical ways; introducing them to various tools that might be helpful in their healing; giving testimony to the power of God in our lives as a witness to what God can do, and; (maybe) walking closely with them as a facilitator, trainer or sponsor as they go through Freedom Session or Encounter God themselves. In all we do, we seek to help people discover and experience the forgiveness, healing and freedom of the Holy Spirit for themselves and in every part of their lives … and this takes time.
“Now that they are equipped, they have the tools needed to help others be open to God’s renovation in their lives,” says Cam Harris, former Pastor of Healing Discipleship. He again refers to the metaphor of letting Jesus renovate your home. First, we let Him beyond the welcome mat, and beyond the living room. We give Him access to the other rooms in our homes. These rooms represent different parts of our lives. Then we work with Him to clean and purge the unnecessary clutter, chaos and history that is blocking us from living in abundance and freedom in Christ. Then we bring in the Holy Spirit to fill those rooms, so we can resist the enemy and clutter when it tries to return. Ultimately, we’re able to apply our newfound tools and techniques in our own lives so we can stay free and healed.
“We want everyone at CSC to experience a healing discipleship course like Encounter God or Freedom Session, so that we can be a healthy church,” says Cam. “Then, whether people are attending a small group, Youth Ministry, Singles Ministry, or volunteering at the Café, they are bringing their healthier, fuller, truer selves to whatever they do. This, in turn, gives them opportunities to help others.”
Today, George and Carolyn serve by helping others in their healing journeys. George is a part of the inner healing prayer team and Carolyn has been on the Encounter God teaching team for three years now, in addition to becoming a sponsor with Freedom Sessions.
“To be able to walk alongside people who are on their healing journey is such a blessing. Because I have gone through my healing journey, helping others to do the same actually helps me,” says Carolyn noting that she can offer the tools and skills that she has learned, and guide people along the way. “Community is so important in our healing journey as we are not to do things alone. We need to have support where people can pray for us and with us, encourage us and have people to just listen to us when we need it.”
George agrees, noting the important role of small groups, one-on-one connections with people seeking inner healing at church and ongoing personal relationships with people. “It feels so good to breath the life of God’s truth into the lives of others,” says George noting the role that strong Christian community played in his own healing journey. “If it weren’t for the church body and some close Christian friends in my life, my healing journey would not have ended the same. The maturity and accountability I receive from them as well as the full expression of God’s love through the body of believers has sustained me in the hard times and kept me on track during the good times as well.”
George adds that in order to be truly healed, we must continue to grow in Christ. “His perfect love heals all wounds and drives out fear so we can love others into a deeper discipleship with Him. He is the only great councillor who can relieve us of our sin and burdens,” says George. He recalls the times in his healing journey in which he found himself drifting from the practices that made him better, such as reading and deeply contemplating God’s Word or staying in community with fellow strong believers. During those times, George found himself straying back into despair.
“So we need to stick with it and believe in who God says He is and what He says – that He is for us, not against us,” says George. “Struggles are a natural part of life but with faith, friends, family and God, living life to the full is real and possible.”
To register for Freedom Session starting September 10 and running until May 6, visit the website and click on the link from the homepage banner.
This five-part series explores five stages of healing, restoration and freedom in Christ. When we talk about how we BUILD more room for God, so often we refer to the sacrifice and letting go of our good stuff – our time, our energy, our finances. But God doesn’t just want our good stuff. He wants our brokenness too. And sometimes we want to hold onto our brokenness and not give it over. We at CSC are in a journey of sacrifice and BUILDing as we raise funds and expand our physical space to accommodate growth in our discipling ministries to children, youth, young adults, seniors and marginalized communities. But we also want this to be a church-wide journey of spiritual growth and healing.
CSC offers many healing discipleship ministries and courses to help people walk in freedom from the things that are holding us back from living life to the full in Christ (John 10:10). Construction of NW Campus and expansion of Central Campus will allow for the various sized multi-purpose spaces needed to optimize the ministry environment for people walking on journeys of spiritual growth and healing. In the spirit of James 5:16, the new spaces will provide discrete and confidential places for people to work in safe community through spiritual barriers like addiction, deep emotional wounds and trauma.