Elijah & Eliza
We both grew up in families that instilled the values and morals of Christianity in us. As a result, our stories are more about getting to know Jesus personally, rather than learning about Jesus for the first time. We came to know Christ personally at the ages of 12 (Elijah) and 8 (Eliza). When we met each other in 2018 we saw the love we both had for Jesus, and eventually got married in October 2020.
Our story with City Awakening started out in the food court at the Millenia Mall. I (Elijah) was in the middle of looking for a church to call home. I saw Pastor Louis working in the food court while I was working at Chick-fil-A, and he was there for a LONG time. I decided to start a conversation with him, and he ended up inviting me to church. It was the kind of church I was looking for, and after Eliza and I got married, we decided we wanted City Awakening to be our church home. So we just recently went through Growth Track to become official members of City Awakening.
God has continually put people in our lives in difficult situations, such as Pastor Louis being in the food court that day when we needed a church home, or our small group always being only a message away. God has continually put people in our lives at City Awakening that have helped us grow in our relationship with the Lord. We love City Awakening for 3 main reasons: hospitality, community, and everything being based on the Bible.
The hospitality of City Awakening was what stood out from the start. The first two weeks we came to City Awakening, there was an effort to greet us and remember our names. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but that little bit of effort went a long way. As for the community, the people at City Awakening didn’t just greet us and move on. We noticed a desire to be in community with one another, whether you have been attending for a week or for 4 years. Our small group has really helped us grow closer to the church and the members of the church. Finally, we love City Awakening because everything is Biblically driven. The church sticks to the Bible and core doctrinal beliefs, even if the culture disagrees on those beliefs.
We would tell a skeptic or a believer that City Awakening is a place you will feel welcomed and loved, no matter where you’re at in your faith. The hospitality and community this church has shown us, is City Awakening’s desire for everybody walking through our doors.