Summer in Wilmore, KY is very strange place to find oneself! Wilmore is highly transient. Most of the population is made up from the two academic institutions (Asbury Theological Seminary and Asbury University). When summer hits it's as if (an already small and slow moving town) comes to a screeching halt. A lot of the single students go home for the entire summer, and families often leave to visit home for extended periods. There are courses that happen throughout the summer; however, most of them are intensives, meaning they're usually one week long. Most of those courses are filled with online students coming to campus to fill the "residency" requirement made by the seminary. On top of all of that Wilmore is still like any other town when it comes to summer break!
So why does this make Wilmore strange? A lack of routine can feel as if you're floating through life without any sort of rhythm or connectedness to others. At first this was nice! Afterall, both semesters were very busy. A breather was good. But what we quickly learned is that our communities have become the the place where we regularly meet with Jesus. Whether it's around the dinner table sharing stories of where we've seen God at work in our lives. Or with a close group of friends sharing our discipleship journey. For us, these places have become a sacred gatherings where we can be completely known and still loved by our friends.
I'm convinced that if we commit to following Jesus, then we need the help of others. And by community, I mean a group of people that helps you grow into Jesus' likeness and become more attentive to his Spirit in the day-to-day moments. We need others in order to live the life Jesus has for each one of us.
In the summer strangeness God has given us a renewed passion and excitement for the upcoming year. We truly believe God is renewing hearts and opening people's eyes to his redeeming love in Wilmore. We feel honored to be a small part of it. We will send more updates within the next few days! Stay tuned.
In Christ,
Anthony
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