Home. It's a dwelling place for the family; offers peace and security; a place you will always feel loved; a familiar setting where you feel comfortable and safe; where you can be yourself and feel like you belong.

Do you know of a place that's not your home, but it feels like it is? I'm talking about a place that no matter what you feel like, the feeling of being home will always be evident the moment you walk through the doors. Or what about that warm, cozy feeling you feel on Thanksgiving or Christmas when everyone is together sitting around the table? You look around, and you know you may have differences—maybe you're salty that your uncle ate the last roll—but you wouldn't change them for the world. You feel at home. You feel peace. You feel love. You feel comfort and acceptance. If you can relate to this, then you are so blessed. To have somewhere that you identify as a second home while some don't even have one is incredible. I am blessed to say that this is me. I have a place that makes me feel this way. It gives me peace, and it gives me love. I am surrounded by a family every time I am there. I am blessed to call my church, Christian Life Church, my second home.

I remember the first time I thought about, "What sets apart my church from the rest? What is it that makes us different?" The first time these questions came to mind was last year when a woman named Jami started attending our church. She made the decision to move thousands of miles away from her home to start school in our local area, and while going to school, she eventually found our church and started coming. During her stay here, however, she felt like God was calling her to move to a new place, and even though she was only here for a few months, her stay felt longer. It felt like she was meant to be here.

I asked Jami, "What made it so easy, in the few months that you were here, to connect with everyone and get involved so quickly? What makes Christian Life Church your second home?"

She responded with this, "After praying for God to help me find a church and realizing that Christian Life Church is where I needed to go, I quickly decided to start attending. Every Sunday I was hounded by the joy that can only be found through the Holy Spirit, and the more Sundays I came, the more weekdays I would seek Him and feel Him working in my life! During the summer when the church began preparing for VBS, I was flooded with memories of all the great things God did in my life when I went to VBS as a little kid, so I decided to sign up and be a volunteer.

[Photo of Jami leading worship at VBS. ChelseyClarke Photography©]

Little did I know that God had more in store for me during that five day period than I could have ever imagined! Not only did I make the most incredible friends, but I had also never felt so welcomed and loved in my entire life! I found these friends, who became more like family, and this new family showed me that God, the creator of the universe, loved me with everything He had. He loved me enough to get me through everything I had been through, all of it, all the little details, and all of the heartbreaks to get me to Christian Life Church in Monroe, Louisiana so that I would realize I was one-hundred percent loved. I realized that this church was the place I was always loved, always welcomed, and would always have people who were happy to see me. After I moved I had this voice saying, 'You need to be baptized,' and I couldn't think of any better place than my home. Christian Life was the place God knew would save me. A lot happened that year, and a lot continues to happen while I'm away; however, I keep coming back because I want to share it with the people I love one-hundred percent."

[Jami flew over a thousand miles to be here for ONE service, and then she flew all the way back that same day. ChelseyClarke Photography©]

After I got that response from Jami, it hit me. Answering the question, "So, what makes us different?" became so much clearer. It's the people.

[Gina & Ashley at Friends Day 2015. ChelseyClarke Photography©]

What's so great about my church is that it functions not only as a church body but a family. We are a family.

[Donice welcoming our members. ChelseyClarke Photography©]

And I think with all of the dynamic functions that a church can offer, that's what people look for when they go to a church. They want to enter the doors and feel like they're already a part of something, they want to feel welcome, and they want to feel something different; and the great thing about Christian Life Church is that's exactly what it does. Yes, we are a church, but that's not all we are. We're not just a building. We're not just "another church." We are a family. We are a home.

[The Smith family at Friends Day. ChelseyClarke Photography©]

It's a home full of people who are diverse in all kinds of ways, but we are all there for the same reason. We're there to worship. We're there to love. We're there to grow in the Word, and we're there to grow together. I go to a church full of some of the best people I know. They sacrifice endless hours to volunteer, they are quick to love, and they are always giving. (I could obviously continue that list).

[Our worship team leading us in service. ChelseyClarke Photography©]

To do something important like work for the Kingdom with people like this, I must say is a blessing. I pray that the unity that is so evidently strong at my church will continue to burn for all the years to come.

[Our faithful members serving food at Grace Place. ChelseyClarke Photography©]

With the incredible, loving people we have in our church and a pastor that is so passionate about what he does, Christian Life Church will continue to expand the members of its family. Because there's nothing better than a family ready to love its new members, right?[Our pastor, Danny Chance, speaking into our lives. ChelseyClarke Photography©]

If you're reading this and you're in search of a second home, I want to personally invite you. YOU are always welcome at Christian Life Church, for we are a place of worship for ALL people. We are a family. We are a home.

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
- Romans 15:5-6 ESV