Welcome
WELCOME, adjective
1. Received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment and company; as a
welcome guest.
2. Grateful; pleasing; as a welcome present; welcome news.
3. Free to have or enjoy gratuitously. You are welcome to worship with us.
This is how we want you to feel when you are here. We don’t want to put up walls to keep you from us, instead we want you to feel at home. We believe that the church is not the building, but the people. Sure, the facility is nice, but if it burned down tomorrow, we would still have a church…just not a building to meet in. As the church, we come together, and we support one another, and we pray for one another, and we share with one another, and we love one another. Sometimes we even disagree with one another, but we move forward in love.
So, if you’re looking for the “perfect church”, then you probably won’t find that here. A wise preacher told me once, “Son, if you ever find the perfect church, don’t go. You’ll just mess it up.” I don’t want you to come with the notion that we are all perfect people who don’t ever make mistakes and will judge you if you aren’t perfect when you arrive, because the very opposite of that is true. We are real people living real lives and facing real struggles every day. Sometimes, we mess up and fall short of the mark that God has placed for us, but that is the beauty of grace; it is the perfect, infallible God meeting with broken and blemished people, and he will make us perfect in his time.
We also understand that not everyone is going to love our church, and that is okay. Not everyone is meant to be here, and if after your visit you don’t feel that this is the place for you, then we will be glad to help you find a congregation to call home. We are not here to just build Athens Wesleyan, but we are here to help build the Kingdom of God in the Valley. Above all, you need to find the church that you feel God is calling you to and a place that you can serve him. So, we welcome you to our family whether you are just coming for a visit or are looking for a place to call home. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out, and we will be glad to speak with you. May God bless you richly, and may you be a blessing for him.
Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Joshua Householder