Thoughts from our Susquehanna Summer Intern, Anna Lloyd

I have not always loved the church. In fact, there have been several points in my life where church was the last place I wanted to be, when the thought of the church brought with it disappointment and disillusionment. Yet here I find myself in an internship focused on understanding how the churches in the Susquehanna Conference are identifying and discipling rising leaders. How did I come to this place?

When I was growing up as a missionary kid, the church was an easy place to throw off the anger that resulted from moving often and engaging in a continuous cycle of loving and leaving people. As I grew older, my vision of the church as the embodiment of the united love of the people of Christ, by which the world would know we belong to him (John 13:35) was challenged as I witnessed the ways that even those most committed to Christ were not perfect. As a young Christian, I wanted the all-encompassing reality of our faith to be capable of erasing the possibility of pain, especially relational pain between church members. I wondered how I could continue to love a church that disappointed my expectations.

What kept me committed to the church was the example of pastors, mentors, and friends whom I witnessed remaining faithful despite their own frustrations with the church. Their example has helped me understand that it is not for our own gain or perfect relationships that believers are called to love the church. Instead, it is the reality of human brokenness that continually encounters transformative love and grace through Christ which enables this commitment to loving the church to continue.

The internship I am engaged in this summer is focused on understanding how the church is identifying and discipling rising leaders in our congregations. My excitement for this opportunity lies in my desire to see other young church members similarly committed to loving the church and that this loving commitment would be evidenced in participation and action among our congregations. My hope is that in the coming years, young church members will not only participate in the life of the church as it is programmed by other leaders, but that they would also be the ones planning events, leading small groups, and living out a commitment to loving the church.