A Global Experience
In my short lifetime of twenty-three years, I have had contact with many local churches in different cities. I grew up in the local church, and throughout my life lived in several states, visited various cities, and attended many conferences and retreats. This afforded me contact in the local churches with Christians of different backgrounds, languages, and cultures. Yet despite the differences among us, I have seen that the Body of Christ is one. Because of the local churches, I have been blessed to have a global experience of the Body of Christ.
Growing up, my family lived in Texas, California, and Washington, and met with the local church in whatever city we were in. Although these cities were in different parts of the country, the local churches did not have a Texan, Californian or Northwest flavor. Rather, they all expressed Christ. My family also acted as hosts on different occasions for believers from the local churches from all over the nation and even the world. We had believers stay with us from New Zealand, Canada, Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Ireland, not to mention from the cities all across the U.S. In addition I have traveled to conferences myself and stayed with believers from all over the world, as well as visited the local churches in Regensdorf, Switzerland, Berlin, and Paris. Everywhere I have gone and with every believer I have met there is a feeling that we have known each other for many years, and a connection that I have felt with no other group of people. This oneness is something people all over the earth, and especially Americans, are seeking. They try all different approaches and methods to break down the differences that divide humankind, and they attempt to unite people of different races, cultures, and social background—all to no avail. It is only in the local churches that I have seen people come together to be one regardless of their age, gender, culture, or background. Here it is Christ and Christ alone that unites us.
I have now graduated from college and am attending the Full-Time Training in Anaheim. My experience of the Body of Christ continues to be what it had been when I was growing up and is even expanding, as I live, study, and work with young believers from all across the U.S., the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and Switzerland. In the local churches I have found a group of Christians who love the Lord to the uttermost and who are focused on His heart’s desire to gain a group of people who express Him. I love being with believers whose focus and goal is Christ, and I consider myself extremely blessed to have grown up in such an environment and to have had a global experience of the Body of Christ. Through the local churches I have seen and experienced that throughout the earth, the Body of Christ is one.