Wrecked for the Ordinary: A Summer of Gospel Community
By Hannah Lewandowski
Throughout the past six years, I have spent my summer breaks either back in my hometown in western Washington or in Pullman working. Both of which have been places of slowness, mundane weeks, and minimal spiritual growth in the summers spent there. I’m accustomed to a school year filled with the high energy of young college students on fire for Jesus, deeply invested in the Christian community. Then, at the same time every year, this slowly dissipates as students return to their hometowns for summer break or venture out on a summer project offered by our church, Resonate. To be honest, I have always wanted to be a part of these summer projects, but I let financial and logistical barriers get in the way, not fully surrendering my summer to the Lord out of fear. Relatable huh? Well, to my surprise, two years post-grad, I was asked to be a part of a five-week discipleship program in San Diego, California called Elevate. For years, I had heard countless stories of transformation in the lives of students who participated in this project, and finally, it was my turn to understand the hype that had surrounded summers in San Diego across our church for so long.
I went not knowing what to expect, but trusting my close friends who had been both students and staff members and were completely obsessed with what God was doing there, captivated by His sovereignty and the beauty of San Diego. Years prior, they would return to me in Pullman; story after story about their summer in California spilling from their mouths, to which I would always respond with, “Wow, that’s so cool, guys!! I don’t think I get it though …”.
Soon enough, June rolled around, and I found myself in San Diego a week earlier than the students arrived, as I was a part of the staff team and we were both training and preparing for the summer adventure to come. I remember looking around the room that first evening our staff team gathered in our Airbnb, thinking to myself how little I knew about the people on the staff team, apart from their fierce love for Jesus and making disciples. The unknown frightened me, but the funny thing is that the unknown positions us to rely fully on Christ and not our own strength, something I had been processing leading up to my time in San Diego.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
- Acts 2:42-47
A few days later, the students arrived, and that morning, I read through Acts 2:42-47, hoping, praying, and longing to experience God’s design for community in the way Luke portrays it in scripture. Welcoming students to our apartments on the University of San Diego campus on the first day of the summer project opened my eyes to the possibility of experiencing community in a different way than I had thus far. I had lived in ministry homes in Pullman, led small groups, volunteered in different spaces, but there truly is nothing like nearly one hundred college students raising thousands of dollars on their own accord, traveling hundreds of miles, and giving up summer jobs and internships all because they want to learn how to be a lifelong disciple of Christ. And those are exactly the students who joined me in San Diego this summer.
They were willing and ready to leverage their comfort, their reputations, and their preferences to live sacrificially alongside one another this summer, creating a sense of community that I have never experienced in my nearly twenty-five years on this Earth.
Each of our doors was always open, welcoming whoever on the project whenever they needed something or felt like stopping by. Our staff and students are constantly available to one another, for moments of laughter, confession, repentance, the shedding of tears, and prayer. We did literally everything together. We rode in the same cars every day, multiple times, going to labs, life skills, teaching nights, Sunday gatherings, volunteer opportunities throughout San Diego, and partnering with local churches in the city. For the introvert like myself, this may sound like a nightmare, but actually, I found it to be quite freeing. I didn’t have to worry about having enough money to afford a sweet treat with friends, or enough energy to cook my next meal, or all of the right answers, because we had each other, and we had the desire to meet one another's needs. I didn’t have to wallow in loneliness or wrestle with the sinking feeling of being unknown. I was seen, I was cared for, and I was chosen. Not just when it was convenient for those doing life alongside me, but in the chaos of life, when it didn’t make sense. Galatians 6:2 calls believers to “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”, and the joy, freedom, and lack of burden experienced by living this way is unlike anything you could dream of. This truly is the way.
“There is freedom when walking in your intended design, in community, bearing one another’s burdens, just as Christ did for us. Friend, you can have that too.”
But the enemy of our souls knows the impact of living in gospel community and abiding in Christ and will stop at nothing to derail you. Whether it be through temptation to sin in ways old and new to you, or believing lies about your identity and value, all of this comes to light when walking with Jesus. Knowing this to be true, God made us to live alongside others so that we can remind one another of the truth, combat lies, wage war on the enemy through prayer and petition. And we did that every day. And it was exhausting, but equally fulfilling. There is freedom when walking in your intended design, in community, bearing one another’s burdens, just as Christ did for us.
Friend, you can have that too. No, you don’t necessarily have to trek down to San Diego for five weeks to experience it, but I pray that you would. Surrounding yourself with people who are committed to Jesus and loving His people will change your life for the better. In fact, it wrecked me for the ordinary. As dramatic as it sounds, I will never be the same, and truthfully, I have never seen a clearer picture of God’s flawless design, a snapshot of the Heaven I will get to spend eternity worshipping our King of kings and Lord of lords. Don’t let fear get in the way of being known, of letting others in, of being a lifelong disciple of Christ. It’s worth it, I promise.
