COME + SEE // My WAKE U experience from 2017
This is weighing on me after leaving tonight's WAKE service. What is WAKE you ask...it is the college+young adult ministry service at Copper Pointe Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. BUT honestly it is so much more than that, I have never been to a church where the atmosphere is so inviting, the volunteer team greets you like they have known you all your life and the sermons feel like they are tailored specifically to what you are going through and they incorporate the word of God into ways that apply to your life, your struggle and the things you never thought anyone would ever understand.
Their mission statement is FTSO (For the Sake of Others) and they live by this day in and day out. I noticed subtle changes in myself and in the way I see those around me and really found what my purpose is. I am a writer, and always have been; but when I started attending regularly I noticed that the way that I was writing was starting to change and I wanted to inspire others around me in a more positive light. There was on particular sermon that stuck out to me and I cant remember what series we were doing but the scripture that stuck out was
1 Thessalonians 5:11 -
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
And this is what I try to live by each and every single day.
Once a year they do a MASSIVE event called WAKE U + It is honestly something you would have to experience,
but here is my story and the way it impacted me personally -
I have always been a spiritual person, growing up I was raised Catholic for the first couple of years of my life and then my parents started taking me to a Baptist church on Base, but growing up as a military kid and moving around so much we never established a church home.
I went on Sundays with my family; I even sang in the church choir when I was in middle school (I am so glad there are no recordings of my first and only solo I ever sang) yall I am a TERRIBLE singer, but I wanted to sing so I did.
When I started my sophomore year of high school I fell off with religion all together and went through my ever so popular rebellious phase...but nothing too crazy. I leaned more towards the phase of "Why me? What did I do to deserve this life" and my life was pretty great. I had a family who accepted me and supported me through whatever I did, but I was a very negative person
Then when I joined the military I started going back to church during basic training and tech school. I honestly don't know why I went back, maybe it was because I was looking for something I didn't know I was missing, but my reasoning was never "...because I want a relationship with God".
& then I fell off again, I stopped going all together, and I resorted to drinking my pain away, and writing mindlessly. I was lost, confused and in 2013 I was in a very dark place...somewhere I didn't know how to get out of. So again, I decided to go back to church it helped, I guess. Some Sundays I could relate to the message being preached, other times I was just occupying a space in the pews, going through the motions but I never felt like what was being preached to me was relatable, and it was just scriptures from the bible that I didn't know how to interpret.
FAST FORWARD...The year 2017
A friend invited me to church, Copperpointe Church to be exact. I went because Kellianne is one of those people with a pure heart, and a motherly instinct that could make you eat your vegetables. I walked in with no expectations and with my guard up for reasons I couldn't understand myself, but for some reason I knew I needed to be there.
The church was massive and as the worship team sang it felt like a concert, it was unmatched to any service I had ever been exposed to. I can't remember what that first sermon was about, but I was touch and moved and it made me feel better, and I had someone who cared about me with me.
The announcements rolled in after the Pastor was done preaching and they mentioned something called Wake U, and how it was going to be held at University of New Mexico, and how it was tailored more towards college students and young adults. On a whim I decided to go and invited one of my friends so I didn't have to go alone.
So the day came, and oh my gosh I had never seen so many people my age so excited to be at church. Everyone I knew that went to church that was between the ages of 18-25 were either forced to go because of their families or they were in the "habit" of going and never talked about church, or God or anything like that.
I am pretty sure that Wake U was one of the reasons I fell in love with wanting to know more about God. They showcased people my age that had gone through struggles and heartache and turned to God for saving, and I know that seems extremely heavy but it was one of those things where you had to be there to experience the movement that was in the atmosphere of Pope Joy Hall that night. At this point I was still floored at the fact that college kids were so into church and their majors weren't tailored towards becoming a pastor themselves. There was no one in huge hats and Sunday's best outfits. They were just normal people in normal clothes trying to navigate their way through life and final exams.
At the end of Wake U Pastor Brandon mentioned how there was a service every week at Copperpointe Church called Wake, and how they were doing a new series called 'The Struggle is Real'.
I went to my first Wake service after attending Wake U...and I haven't missed a Wednesday service since then. Here's the thing, I don't know the Bible like the back of my hand, and the closest thing to bible study I ever had was my catechism classes when I was younger and was identified as "Catholic" and I put that in quotations because I never identified myself as a catholic, because I never got anything out of going to Mass on Sundays. I was never moved or touched by anything that was being said, and I could sit there all day long but the Bible never resonated with me in any way at all, and quite frankly it terrified me because I didn't understand how a book, or talking to something or someone I didn't see would solve all my problems, so yes...I was a non believer and a skeptic, I am not ashamed to say it. I was literally going through the motions of life, being fake happy, and fooling everyone around me when on the inside I was one step away from unleashing my inner storm on the world.
Going to back to church this time was different, I felt different. I was finally in a place of opening my mind up to something greater than myself, to giving it my all and I actually wanted to be at Church, and not because I felt like it was something I should be doing.
Heres the thing about Wake and Copperpointe's services in general...it's preached in a way that applies it to everyday life. All the other places I grew up going to felt like they were simply reading the Bible and then telling me that I was a bad person and God was sending me straight to hell if I wasn't pure and holy all the time.
Wake has taught me that it's okay if I am a screw up, and if I don't always get things right because I know I'm not worthy, none of us are and that's WHY He paid for our sins. I can't express enough how good it feels to have this huge weight lifted off of my shoulders, and get excited to sit at church and absorb as much of the message I can so I can apply it to the things I'm going through in life, and read more about it in the Bible and tell others of how He is moving in my favor. I pray with confidence and acknowledge the fact that He will get me through everything.
It's like all of those dark times were necessary for me to appreciate my growth in faith. And some of you might be in that dark space right now, but you aren't alone...I've been there hopeless and confused; pouring another glass to mask the pain so I wouldn't be able to feel anything at all.
Please know that the path you walk isn't alone, and at the end of it all...it gets a bit brighter and you can be saved. Sometimes the struggle is just real, but God is realer. (man that was cheesy). I know that was a long read but it's apart of my start and the beginning of my journey.
This year WAKE U will be held at Pop Joy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus on February 28th at 7pm. It is a free event and truly life changing, so go with an open heart, an open mind and bring all of your struggle, pain and disappointment and see how God moves through you. SO I INVITE YOU TO COME AND SEE AND EXPERIENCE THIS FOR YOURSELF + BRING A FRIEND, OR 5.
