"bridging" connections

By: Tessa Sentell 

At the cafe, we do ministry out of relationship, and this past week was a prime example of that. At our first Saturday night Bridge service, I met a man named John who fell in love with the vision of The Bridge. I was excited to see that he came to my church the next day after being invited. I soon found that we attended the same Celebrate Recovery group at a church that I was making connections with via the café.

A few months went by, and I sent out the flier for the next Bridge to a few churches. I was told later that John saw the flier hanging up at his church and excitedly told the whole CR group about it. The pastor explained that the flier had come from me, and everyone hopped on the idea, since I had relationship with them from attending the group. So, a flier on a bulletin board became more than just that. There was suddenly a person and a mission attached to it.

The service went well. I was able to share my testimony publicly for the first time, and we had a different church volunteering with us. About a week later, I was at a random conference in Pittsburgh and picked a “random” seat. The girl next to me immediately lit up and said “You’re that girl that gave her testimony at the café!” Though I hadn’t talked to her, she had been in the volunteering church group, and my story had made an impact on her. The Holy Spirit really makes a small world smaller. 
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