Gospel Family in Chico
By Hannah Lewandowski
When I was a kid, I loved my family dearly, but I most definitely took them for granted. It wasn’t until I came to college that I understood just how invaluable my family was to me. This is why college students seek out fraternities, sororities, clubs, and groups, right? We’re all looking for a “home away from home” until we reach our final, eternal destination, Heaven.
There is something significant about togetherness, the support and sense of belonging that only family can provide. As I grew older, it became increasingly evident that not everyone has a healthy or unified family. But our God graciously adopts us into His family, covered by the blood of Jesus, and makes us coheirs to the throne. Not only that, He also provides a family, a fellowship of believers, on Earth in the meantime. So when our friends are sent on another church plant, graduate college, or move elsewhere for a job, we can trust that we still have a role, a way to care for them, our family, from afar. Those at the church plant in Chico, California, got to experience just that as three churches within our Collective visited them during each of their spring breaks.
The staff and core team have been in Chico since April of last year, with many team members joining throughout the summer of 2024. Since moving in and getting settled, the team has gained a good understanding of the city's layout and the culture of the people who reside in Chico. The pastor of Resonate Chico, Carson, shares that there is a “deep sense of community [and] people want to spend time together and be outside with other people”, which can be seen in the countless community groups, intense party culture among college students, and weekly rhythms put on by the city, such as the Thursday farmers market. The people of Chico are longing for belonging, creating a unique opportunity for the team to meet them where they’re at, and for us, their family afar, to visit, to pray, and to give.
“ But our God graciously adopts us into His family, covered by the blood of Jesus, and makes us coheirs to the throne. Not only that, He also provides a family, a fellowship of believers, on Earth in the meantime. ”
The first of the teams to visit them was Resonate Pullman, the church that sent them out nearly a year ago. They arrived in Chico on the Sunday of their Launch Gathering, to which the Chico team shared, “we don’t think it would have happened without them”, due to their manpower and helpful skill set. The presence of the family quelled the anxiety of the team through the Lord’s provision, as multiple things didn’t go to plan that day. On top of that, the Pullman team was able to refresh their strategies of connecting with students on campus, as the Chico team was at a point of exhaustion following a seven-month sprint in terms of evangelism efforts and establishing a new church on campus. A campus multiplier, Jenny Hanna, described their time with the Pullman team as “refreshing and encouraging”, leaving their “batteries recharged”. Family helps fill the gaps. Family shares. Family encourages, and family shows up. Resonate Pullman was used intricately to reveal just that.
After Pullman had come and gone, a team from Resonate Corvallis came. Sarah Street, Resonate Chico’s church manager, shares that they “were exactly what they needed for their second gathering on campus”, helping them to fine-tune things and refreshing them even further. Carson went on to share that Resonate Corvallis joined them with a nature of humble beginnings, approaching them with the desire to help them wherever they could, adding security to Carson’s heart as a pastor. Comparison is a slippery slope, and it can be so easy to fall into that, especially when starting something new, but Galatians 6:2 reminds us that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to “carry each other’s burdens”, not counting ourselves as more significant based on the state or skillset of the church we belong to. Family doesn’t compete to feel superior. Family carries one another’s burdens willingly and joyfully.
“Sarah shared, “There is always something to celebrate, our God is always at work”, and celebrating is that much better when done with your family near and far. The marathon of church planting can feel like a constant pouring out of oneself, but knowing that people will get to experience freedom and redemption from the sin that plagues their lives and identities is the very source of their endurance. “
Following these two teams came Resonate Reno. They arrived just in time for the events on and off campus that week. Arriving with an “all hands on deck” mentality not only grew the camaraderie amongst the two churches, but continued to renew the weariness of the team in Chico. Jenny shares that with the team from Reno, “there was an open-handedness, their teachability helped us in Chico to feel seen and known”; there is a mutual respect forged when both teams deeply desire to learn from one another, seeing value in both the newly established church and the one that’s been around for a bit longer. By the third week of having a team visit from another city, the Chico team felt confident in knowing that people got to hear the gospel, and ultimately, that’s what matters most. People who don’t know Jesus were prayed for, people who’ve never been to church were invited, all of which was made possible through the unified vision of a greater family on mission.
While logistically, it was tough at times to host several large groups of people in the two homes the Chico team resides in, they got to experience a full circle moment as other teams had hosted them previously. They began to value the generosity of the teams that had gone before them, opening their homes years ago. Learning to be hospitable week after week can be strenuous, but worthwhile, knowing the impact of each church’s team on their own group, their campus, city, and beyond. Moments where they got to see teams return to their homes wearing full-faced grins after sharing the gospel with students for the first time made it all the more worth it. A typical college student on spring break isn’t leveraging their week to make a Kingdom impact by going out of their comfort zone to share the good news of Jesus with other reluctant students, and yet here these teams were, doing just that. Sarah shared, “There is always something to celebrate, our God is always at work”, and celebrating is that much better when done with your family near and far. The marathon of church planting can feel like a constant pouring out of oneself, but knowing that people will get to experience freedom and redemption from the sin that plagues their lives and identities is the very source of their endurance.
Family is essential. Acts chapter two reveals to us the importance of living in unity with believers, and in doing so, the Lord provides abundantly; we don’t lack anything when sharing our burdens and wins with our community, our family. If that is a life you want to live, consider belonging to a local church. Attach yourself to Christ and you will find your needs met and your heart restored, for He makes all things new. His love is made perfect in community. Join us in continuing to pray for more laborers in the harvest at Chico State University. God is working mightily here, and you can be a part of that, too.
