Moving is hard. Between packing up the old house and unpacking at the new, moving is a whirlwind of checklists, emotional goodbyes, and hopeful hellos. By the time you have room to breathe, you are in a completely new place - sometimes with no friends and no family.

As a military family, moving is a frequent occurrence for us. We have lived in four different states and attended five different churches; forced to find community in each new place. Every time, God has been faithful in providing community as we pursued him and membership in a local church for variable lengths of time, from 9 months to 3 years.

As we prepare to move once again in the next year, we must combat this fear of the unknown. Yet, despite our fear, we have hope in our changing circumstances because of the work that Jesus has done on the cross. We cling to the Gospel knowing that God is faithful and gracious: he is faithful to grow us and his church, he is faithful to provide, and he will provide the grace to sustain us. 

Faithful to Grow

“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…” Matthew 16:18

One of the most foundational hopes we have is knowing with absolute confidence that the Lord will build his church. We can trust there will be believers, and as a result, community, wherever we will be. As we walk in obedience in sharing the Gospel, we will even have the privilege of partaking in this work of Kingdom building. We can rejoice in knowing that God will be glorified as he brings people to repentance and adopts them into his family through Christ. 

We are also confident that God will grow us in sanctification: “for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29.) This move, much like any change in life, will be used to grow us in our dependence on him, our faith in his sovereignty, and ultimately our delight in Christ. 

Faithful to Provide

“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb...” Exodus 17:6

The question has crossed our minds: “What if we end up in a place overseas that has no church for us to be a part of?” or “What if the place feels deserted with no believers?” This story in Exodus reminds us that, despite the Israelites’ grumbling and lack of faith in the wilderness, God rained manna down from the heavens to provide food, and he also provided water, bursting forth from the rock at Horeb. He was testing the Israelites’ faith to see if they would trust him to provide even after he led them to a place without water, because the point is that his very presence is our life. Even if we can’t see how he will provide in the moment, we can surely trust him, because the same God who provided for the Israelites in the wilderness gave himself for us when he sent Christ to die on the cross. We have no other needs more pressing than our need for him, and he gives himself freely to us. He is what we can hope for, trust in and rely on more truly than anything else in life.

Grace to Sustain

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand...” Romans 5:2

Since we have the Gospel, we know the Lord pours out his grace and mercies on us in big ways, like salvation, and in everyday, seemingly mundane ways. This grace can be tangibly seen through the blessing and care of the local church. 

We moved to Ann Arbor during the height of the pandemic where masks, social distancing, and caps on large gatherings were the norm. We had no family in Michigan, and did not know a single person when we moved here. TCC was gathering in person at a local park and the members were extremely welcoming to us. That was grace.

A few months later, we had decided to become members and shortly after found out we were expecting our first child. There was some hesitancy in asking such new friends to throw us a baby shower, however, two women in the church offered before the question was even brought up. We were very blessed by it! That was grace. 

When we were out of town, our fridge broke. We ended up storing our groceries at two families’ homes and a third dropped off their extra freezer at 11pm. That was grace. 

Our new fridge broke and another family from church let us borrow their spare fridge. That was grace. 

When we have felt burdened or overwhelmed with serving the church and our community, only to walk away with great joy because we were with his people, talking about his goodness and serving him, that was grace. 

When we worry and have anxious thoughts about the future, we cannot fathom how God’s grace will show up, and often do not even expect it to! Yet, it is there in the local church. When we, in faith, submit to a local church and surround ourselves with believers seeking to put their sin to death and spur one another on toward love and good deeds, grace can be found. It is part of the daily grace that sustains us as we strive to be more like Jesus. 

As believers, we can hold fast to all of these promises in scripture. Gospel hope is believing that since Christ absorbed the wrath of God for our sins on the cross and passed onto us His perfect righteousness, we are made right with God. And therefore, all God’s promises to his people find their Yes in Christ (2 Cor 1:20) and are passed along to us, because he has made us his people. The hope we put in these promises is hope we can cling to and trust fully; it is steady and worthy because God is steadfast. 

Find and Join a Local Church!

We enjoy being part of church plants because there are often plenty of opportunities to serve, and the community is small enough we can get to know people quickly during the short amount of time we actually live there. Finding and building community quickly is crucial, especially if you do not know anyone in your new location!

Since we have moved so many times, we do have some practice in finding a new church and building community. Some ways are funny (like how if you’re standing by yourself while your spouse is in the restroom, people are more likely to talk to you!) and others are just practical: 

1. Ask your current pastors for church suggestions. 

2. Do your research. We often google “church plants” in whatever city we’re moving to. Then, we filter the churches recommended or googled through a few networks that we’ve found to be trustworthy: 9Marks, Acts29, The Gospel Coalition, Pillar Network. Then, we read over the statements of beliefs on the church’s website. 

3. Listen to some sermons.  You can even see if the church has a playlist of songs they sing or a weekly worship playlist. All of this can be done to screen churches before moving. This gives an idea of the church’s preaching style and focus. 

4. Visit your top 3. Community can only be experienced in person. Stick it out for a few weeks to get the best feel for what that particular local church is like - from weekly gatherings, small groups, special events, teaching, etc. 

5. Commit and be faithful. Once you have settled on a church, go all in. Be faithful, intentional, and quickly jump into serving the church. 

It’s said that community is not found, it’s built: if there are small groups, go visit them; prayer nights, be a part of them; community outreach days, go and serve alongside the church. Friendships will form as you serve alongside one another and praise God together. And in so doing, you will get a front row seat watching God grow his kingdom here on earth.

Post written by Victor and Rebecca Nguyen, members of Treasuring Christ Church