Forefront Stories | Andre Johnson-Brown
This season we're sharing stories of life change at Forefront. We're calling it “Make A Joyful Noise”! Each story of life change is indeed joyful. These stories mark long journeys of leaving faith, dealing with pain, and living with doubt but finding beauty, community, and joy on the other side!
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Stories from our Congregation: Andre Johnson-Brown
I’ve been a part of a few different churches, and attended dozens more, over the course of my life. So I can confidently say that Forefront was never the kind of church I saw myself settling down at, or even acknowledging. Besides being such a genuinely open and welcoming community, Forefront has drastically deviated from most of the churches along my spiritual walk in two distinct ways.
“So I can confidently say that Forefront was never the kind of church I saw myself settling down at, or even acknowledging.”
The first is that Forefront is the first church that I’ve attended that honestly feels open to ALL of God’s children.
The church that I attended for most of high school through college was a predominantly Caribbean-American Church which, for a first generation immigrant like myself, provided me with some cultural grounding and familiarity. On the surface, it seemed as any church should, a congregation of members that cared for each other as Jesus cared for them. However under the surface, there were moments of tension. Anyone that did not fit the homogeneity of the church was kept at arm's length, and not made to feel welcome by the church’s core congregation.
“Anyone that did not fit the homogeneity of the church was kept at arm's length, and not made to feel welcome by the church’s core congregation.”
As I grew older and became more aware of this, I tried to be the bridge within the congregation to those on the outside; doing my best to welcome and include those who were subtly being othered by the rest of the congregation. However this came to a head when one of the relatively younger members of the church revealed that she was now romantically involved with a frequent visitor, who also happened to be female. Subtly ostracized by some of the older members of the congregation, they no longer felt welcomed , and withdrew from the church completely. Other young people in the church as a result of their own LGBTQ+ status, also left the church. Those who stayed, hid that part of themselves from the members, save those people they trusted the most.
To come to Forefront after being in a church like that was a radical shock to my system. Seeing the way that everyone was welcomed to be their fullest selves in Christ really made Forefront feel like the church home I didn’t know I was looking for.
“Hearing sermons about God’s love, and how he wants to spread that love through us, really opened my eyes to what god could be.”
The second thing Forefront changed for me was how I viewed God, and my relationship with him (check out this sermon on How We Got God). I was raised to fear the Lord, knowing that while God protected and loved us, he would also punish us if we strayed too far. As I grew older, my relationship with God became very laissez-faire, and the idea of a jealous and vindictive God didn’t sit well with me. As I saw more and more of God’s goodness, even in my season of being not as close to God as I could have been, I started gravitating to the idea of a God that loves us regardless of our flaws. And that idea solidified once I came to Forefront. Hearing sermons about God’s love, and how he wants to spread that love through us, really opened my eyes to what god could be.
Would you like to invest in more stories like this?
You can! You could set up a recurring monthly gift during this “Make a Joyful Noise” Campaign. We’re raising $40,000 so that we can continue to be a church both online and in person. We anticipate that day coming and are planning ahead for a new and bright future. Your gift not only allows Forefront to continue to pay the bills, you gift allows us to create a care team fund that continues to support members of our church. It gives stipends to your ministries and groups. It buys the equipment that allows some of you, our virtual community, to experience Forefront’s community and worship from anywhere in the world. It helps furnish the homes of refugees through our partnership with Ruth's Refuge.
In short, it allows us to expand our just and generous vision