There's No Place Like Home!

By Brian & Erin Donovan

Sometimes it takes a while to call a place home... and sometimes it takes only a moment. This "home-in-a-moment" experience is what my husband and I felt when we walked in the doors of Central in June 2006.

Brian and I had been working on planting a new church with a group of friends in the city of Baltimore, but both felt like God was stirring in our hearts the desire to find a church home outside of the church planting effort. We looked and looked and then looked some more. I remember how discouraged we both were throughout that process. Was God not hearing our prayers? Everything within me just wanted to scream, "Hello God! We just want to be involved in a church! How long is it going to take for you to answer this?" After one year of going from place to place on Sundays, we ran into Greg Smith, a college friend of Brian's. Greg and his wife, Erin, mentioned to us that they went to Central Presbyeterian and that we should try it out. So shortly thereafter, we walked into Central.

From the moment we walked in, we were embraced by so many people. We felt instant peace and knew that this is where God wanted us. That Sunday, we were invited out to lunch by a few different people and were pointed in the direction of the small group table. Throughout the next few weeks, we were placed in a small group. Following that, we talked to Andy Gathman and Mandi Pusateri about other ways to get involved. We soon found ourselves involved in worship, the young adult ministry, and First Impressions (the ministry geared towards connecting guests!)

If you are reading this and thinking, "This doesn't happen to everyone that walks in the doors," you are right. This doesn't happen to everyone, but for us, it took that first person saying hello, then we had to take steps to get involved as well. The Small Group table is a great resource and a key to meeting people and making connections. Our small group has quickly become our family in Baltimore, and we cherish those relationships and time spent together.

Throughout that one year of searching, there were moments of frustration and disappointment, but looking back we both realize that God does know the plans He has for us. He knew what He was doing and where He was leading us... and we couldn't be more excited to be home!