Blog

An excerpt from C Magazine

I was in the middle of a job change, we had just sold our house, one of our daughters was diagnosed with cancer and the other was fighting an eating disorder. I was very near the breaking point. The rules of how to act like a man in tough situations were breaking down for me. I was so distraught and desperate that when I would try to get into a proper man conversation about our situation, I would just start spilling my guts and sharing my anxiety. It was obviously very uncomfortable—for me and the other guys who suddenly remembered something they needed to do as they politely excused themselves.

I was reaching out for someone to at least understand one aspect of my ordeal. I remember coming to the conclusion that most people just didn’t really care, and the ones who cared really didn’t understand. I think it was the most alone I have ever felt in my life. I cried, but almost always alone. I stopped praying. I felt like I had told God everything. He knew how I felt. The rest was up to Him. I didn’t need to risk boring or scaring Him off, too.

When we went out to the treatment center for family therapy week with one of our daughters, I was numb—just going through the motions. I had pretty much given up on people, on God and on hope.

Continue reading in C Magazine...

At Granger, we believe in the power of story. Because we believe this so strongly, we’ve innovated our storytelling approach and started a magazine. C Magazine is for the people of our community. It’s a chance to share the stories of what God is doing in hearts and lives with people who may or may not step inside the walls of our church building. We’d love for you to check out our recently released second issue for free. And if you’d like to be a part of the conversation around innovative approaches to spreading the Gospel, you’ll want to bring your team to Innovate 2014 on October 14 & 15. We’ll explore strategic and practical ways to innovate in every ministry are.

Something we’re passionate about at Granger Community Church is story. We believe that stories have a way into hearts and minds that no other medium can reach. We relate when a person shares a story of failure or vulnerability. We are inspired by stories of success. It's not that other methods are bad or ineffective. We simply believe that real, authentic stories are another valuable way to share the gospel. And messages, videos, songs and blogs can all be ways to share stories. But this past year, we started exploring a new [to us] way of sharing stories: C Magazine.

C Magazine was born out of a desire to share stories of the ways God is working in real people’s lives in our community with people who may not step inside the walls of our church. We’re still newbies on this journey—the first issue was released last October, and the second one is in the works, with a projected Spring release. But we want to share with you what we’ve been working on. Maybe it’ll inspire something fresh. Maybe you’ll connect with the stories. Download a free copy or visit the website to see for yourself.

Have you heard about our One-Day Workshops? These are intense and focused, interactive learning environments that your whole team can take advantage of. Get away for one day and join us at Granger Commons on Friday, April 25 to learn more about First Impressions, Communications and Kids’ Ministry. Then stay with your team for the Arts All-Access workshop on Saturday, April 26 where you’ll go behind the scenes and attend the Saturday night service.