Friday
Clayton and Mikaylah
Mikaylah and I lived in Mississippi, and we were asked to come back home here to Texas, so here we are. Then, I asked Mikaylah's mom where she and Gary attended church and told her that I would like to check it out. Well, one Sunday we visited Commons, and we really liked the way Steve Bezner taught the word of God and overall enjoyed the welcome we had from everyone who belongs to Commons. Now, the reason we keep coming back is well, first things first, we love learning more and more of our Lord, plus it's like a whole new family we have. The gospel is great and GOD IS GOOD. :)
Saturday
The Gonzalezes
In the winter of 2011, our family was offered an opportunity to move to Ft. Worth to live. We had been searching for a new home and this seemed like an answer to our prayers, Yet we didn't want to make a move from Dallas to Ft Wort just for a house. We desired to be on a place where we could actively serve God live in community and accountability.
After finding out more about the community, some friends told us about the Commons Church. We were attracted by the vision and emphasis on building relationships and reaching out to the community.
With much peace and excitement, we moved to Ft Worth Dec 31st and the Commons Church immediately took us in as family.
With The Commons, we are developing close relationships, investing in others, and are using our gifts and talents for the Lord.
We love being a part of the Commons family!
Lisandro & Mary Gonzalez
Sammy & Joshua
Teddy Barbour
God kind of brought me to Commons it seems like at the perfect time. The past couple of years, I had been searching for a church and was in and out of different churches, but I couldn't seem to find the right one. When I was in New York City with Dr. Bezner for a missions tip, he invited me to come to Commons for a service. The reason I have stayed at Commons was because the church really shows what we believe in, not what we don't believe, which is unlike many other churches. I love the church and all of its members and I'm really excited that God has brought me to Commons!
Celeste Whisenant
I moved to fort worth exactly one year ago to start residency.
Growing up in San Marcos, I went to the church where Corey pastored my whole life, and I used to babysit for the Beardens in college. I knew that they had been a part of a church plant in Fort Worth, so I was excited to visit and ever since that first Sunday, I just felt at home. I was fresh from medical school in Houston (4 years in a city I never settled into with no church family and almost no friends) and one of my biggest prayers was that I would find a church fast. I more or less decided that I was just going to pick one church and commit, no church shopping at all. Praise the Lord that church was the Commons!
From day one I just felt loved and part of the family. The Common's Church was by far my biggest blessing of 2011 and one of those times that I just think "Wow God really answers prayer!!!".
Growing up in San Marcos, I went to the church where Corey pastored my whole life, and I used to babysit for the Beardens in college. I knew that they had been a part of a church plant in Fort Worth, so I was excited to visit and ever since that first Sunday, I just felt at home. I was fresh from medical school in Houston (4 years in a city I never settled into with no church family and almost no friends) and one of my biggest prayers was that I would find a church fast. I more or less decided that I was just going to pick one church and commit, no church shopping at all. Praise the Lord that church was the Commons!
From day one I just felt loved and part of the family. The Common's Church was by far my biggest blessing of 2011 and one of those times that I just think "Wow God really answers prayer!!!".
Friday
Will Brown
I grew up in a Christian home and was in church every Sunday and Wednesday. I went to vacation Bible school, was really involved in the youth group, FCA, etc. As a sophomore in high school, my family moved to Abilene, TX, which was good and bad, but I found myself in an internal fight against becoming “religious.” I also noticed that the intimacy of my relationships was not the same as they were prior to moving. Anyway, I went to college at Texas A&M and attended one of the “mega” churches there. I found it really easy to get lost in the shuffle, and being pre-med, studying made it difficult to attend events during the week. Although I was serving in a ministry within the church, I did not feel like I belonged to a church. After 6 years and 2 degrees at A&M, I was accepted into med school in Phoenix, AZ. This is where, for the first time since leaving Nocona, I felt like I had a church home. By the way, I promise this will tie into the Commons. In Phoenix, I attended a small service on Sunday evening called Crash, which is part of North Phoenix Baptist Church (yes, John McCain goes there). Being in med school, I spent almost all my time studying, and as it is now, I had a hard time making a lot of things other than Sunday night (this seems like a common thread in my life.) Rather than getting lost in the shuffle, I found people who met me where I was, supported and prayed for me as I went through one of the most difficult endeavors to that point I had attempted. One of these people is named Ken Pettis. Ken is an ex-convict who runs a ministry for guys getting out of prison. Every Sunday he greeted me with a hug and would ask how I was, not how’s med school. If I couldn’t make it on Sunday night, the following Monday I would get an email from Ken with a word of encouragement and asking how he could pray for me that week. For one of the few times in my life, I had someone take an interest in me spiritually, and I had never had someone outside of a Bible study ask me how they could pray for me. It was the intimate, rawness of Crash that made me realize that my days of attending a “mega” church were over, and I would always search out a small community of believers. (I still email with Ken every couple of months, he has since been diagnoses with AIDS, but despite his illness is continuing his ministry.)
Ok, so the Commons. My best friend, Kirk Gentzel, and Steve are good friends. Kirk began to tell me about Steve’s idea for starting a church in South Fort Worth. The more he described it, the more I loved the idea of creating a church that had the goal of being like yeast in a neighborhood. During my 4th year of med school, I lived in FW for a month while interviewing at John Peter Smith, so during that time I had the chance to meet Steve and attend the Commons, (it was still meeting at Joy and Steve's house). Once there, I realized I knew several people from my days in Abilene, one of whom would come to my parents house for dinner and then tutored me in Spanish my Junior year of high school (Kristen Horton). So when I made my decision to move to Fort Worth for residency, the Commons played a huge role in this decision. I knew my life would be dominated by work and that I would be working more Sundays than I would have off. Also, I knew that I would need someone to look out for me spiritually, this was a hard realization, since I’m usually the one taking care of people.
The Commons I feel has been my link to the outside world for the last 12 months. I’m forever indebted to this community for the love they have and continue to show me, even though I only get to attend maybe once a month. So that's my story. Our Lord has used the Commons to help me through one of the hardest years of my life, and is the constant reminder that there is hope despite suffering and that hope is and always will be Christ.
Ok, so the Commons. My best friend, Kirk Gentzel, and Steve are good friends. Kirk began to tell me about Steve’s idea for starting a church in South Fort Worth. The more he described it, the more I loved the idea of creating a church that had the goal of being like yeast in a neighborhood. During my 4th year of med school, I lived in FW for a month while interviewing at John Peter Smith, so during that time I had the chance to meet Steve and attend the Commons, (it was still meeting at Joy and Steve's house). Once there, I realized I knew several people from my days in Abilene, one of whom would come to my parents house for dinner and then tutored me in Spanish my Junior year of high school (Kristen Horton). So when I made my decision to move to Fort Worth for residency, the Commons played a huge role in this decision. I knew my life would be dominated by work and that I would be working more Sundays than I would have off. Also, I knew that I would need someone to look out for me spiritually, this was a hard realization, since I’m usually the one taking care of people.
The Commons I feel has been my link to the outside world for the last 12 months. I’m forever indebted to this community for the love they have and continue to show me, even though I only get to attend maybe once a month. So that's my story. Our Lord has used the Commons to help me through one of the hardest years of my life, and is the constant reminder that there is hope despite suffering and that hope is and always will be Christ.
The McKenzies
The McKenzie's LOVE Commons Church! In the past year J.J. was baptized by Luke and Steve. What a remarkable experience. That journey brought our family closer together and bonded us even tighter to the people in our church family. To have your child look forward to and enjoy going to church is a remarkable blessing! We also found a wonderful community group. We are starting to build some deeper relationships and friendships as we study the Bible with our Commons friends. I love hearing the children play as we share our prayers and concerns with each other. We look forward to many more years with our friends and neighbors at Commons Church!
Ashleigh Estes
All the cool kids were doing it…
After I graduated from college I was excited to be back in Fort Worth and start my “grown up” life. I figured I would return to the church I had grown up in because I was comfortable there and I don’t like change. I quickly realized that maybe that church was no longer where I needed to be. There were certain things I thought I needed in a church home that it was missing so I set out on a four year journey to find it….name almost any church in Fort Worth and I’ve visited it.
While I was in the middle of the great church search my good friend, Kristen, became involved with a church plant. It was interesting to hear about the process and the people involved with it and soon two more of my friends got involved with The Commons. They kept suggesting I visit and by this point I had been to so many churches I had lost count so what was one more. Besides, if my friends had jumped on board it had to be pretty good, right?
So, I finally caved agreed to walk into a stranger’s house one Sunday after meeting them for breakfast. I had no idea what to expect, but had been warned that someone named Steve would probably ask me a lot of questions. I don’t really remember much about that first visit other than thinking I had gotten off easy with the questions and The Commons was just too small for me.
I continued my search and finally found a church that met all my expectations. I settled there for awhile and it was easy to blend in and soak up solid Biblical teaching without pouring into anyone else. I soon realized I had been looking for a church based on what I thought I needed and not seeking the Lord in where he was leading me.
I returned to The Commons, now at Sue Crouch, prepared for the interrogation I knew was coming. As it turned out I would avoid all the questions again because I visited on “broken face Sunday.” In all my church wondering I had never met a group of people who were so welcoming and genuinely excited to see a new face and soon I was hooked.
To make an already long story short, after some initial reluctance, I knew The Commons was where God was leading me to grow and serve. It has been amazing to be part of a church that “does life together” and serves the community with love and joy.
After I graduated from college I was excited to be back in Fort Worth and start my “grown up” life. I figured I would return to the church I had grown up in because I was comfortable there and I don’t like change. I quickly realized that maybe that church was no longer where I needed to be. There were certain things I thought I needed in a church home that it was missing so I set out on a four year journey to find it….name almost any church in Fort Worth and I’ve visited it.
While I was in the middle of the great church search my good friend, Kristen, became involved with a church plant. It was interesting to hear about the process and the people involved with it and soon two more of my friends got involved with The Commons. They kept suggesting I visit and by this point I had been to so many churches I had lost count so what was one more. Besides, if my friends had jumped on board it had to be pretty good, right?
So, I finally caved agreed to walk into a stranger’s house one Sunday after meeting them for breakfast. I had no idea what to expect, but had been warned that someone named Steve would probably ask me a lot of questions. I don’t really remember much about that first visit other than thinking I had gotten off easy with the questions and The Commons was just too small for me.
I continued my search and finally found a church that met all my expectations. I settled there for awhile and it was easy to blend in and soak up solid Biblical teaching without pouring into anyone else. I soon realized I had been looking for a church based on what I thought I needed and not seeking the Lord in where he was leading me.
I returned to The Commons, now at Sue Crouch, prepared for the interrogation I knew was coming. As it turned out I would avoid all the questions again because I visited on “broken face Sunday.” In all my church wondering I had never met a group of people who were so welcoming and genuinely excited to see a new face and soon I was hooked.
To make an already long story short, after some initial reluctance, I knew The Commons was where God was leading me to grow and serve. It has been amazing to be part of a church that “does life together” and serves the community with love and joy.
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