How God Moved in 2009!

[Ryan May]

As The Net approaches One Year, we're curious... How has God used this church to move in your life? Tell us what 2009 brought for you and how the body of Christ played a part. Where did He perform a miracle? What spiritual growth did you see come about? How has life changed for you? How have you changed in the process? What role did The Net play in that story?

[Nikki Hicks]

To be honest the reason I visited The Net Church was to see if it was some kind of an Occult (no offense Ryan).  With all the billboards and signs around town saying “If you hate Church”, I was a little skeptical.  At the time, I was already attending a church here in town that I really loved.  I was just checking things out.  Wow, the first Sunday that I attended I was hooked.  It was like nothing I had ever really experienced in church before.  From the moment I walked through the entrance (after a big “Welcome to The Net” and hand shake from Cpt. Mike) it just got better and better.  God started to move in my heart from the minute I walked in.  From the friendliness of the staff to the perfect brew of the coffee I knew this was a place that I was going to enjoy! The worship music was great too!  Then for the final test… the message!  Pastor Ryan made me laugh and he made me cry. But the bottom line was he was teaching straight from scripture and challenged me apply it to my life and to go out and share it with the rest of the world.  You see, that’s what is so great… Pastor Ryan is truly anointed in teaching the word and in challenging us to go out in our communities, our work place, our schools, wherever, and live the life that the Bible calls us to live.  I see it working in the lives of the members of the Church every Sunday morning.  I truly thank God for allowing me to be part of such a community striving to live Christ like lives and extending Christ’s love to our community in such a powerful way.  I am just thankful that God would bless me with such an awesome church! Thank you for allowing me to play a small part on Sundays greeting and handing out bulletins.   Our Church is AWESOME!

[Ryan May]

Nikki!! We need to make your our PR person! :)

so glad The Net has meant so much to you. Thanks for sharing!!

[Ryan Spencer]

Coming to be a part of the Net has been a long time coming. For years we knew that I was going to get out of the Navy in 2009 but we never knew where we would go after the Navy. We figured we would just follow the money to a new job. As the time grew closer we began to be more concerned. Finally, in a message that we never saw coming, we had an answer. As clear as it can get, God told us that we needed to move to Chattanooga and be part of the Net. We didn't know the exact need that we were going to help, we didn't know where we would live, and we didn't know where we would even get money to live there, but God had a plan for us to be here. So we leaped.
Since we came God has answered all our questions in His time. We've come to be part of a church family that we have never experienced before. The Net is moving in ways that are surprising for a church that is so young and it is very exciting to see where we are headed. I can see already as we are becoming stretched and shaped as God uses us to help impact this beautiful area. I can't wait to see what the coming time reveal.

[Ryan May]

Ryan... You and Sarah have been a testimony for "How to Have Faith"!

We are grateful for your persistence and know God has placed you here as an integral part, on so many levels, of what we are doing!

[Joe Freeman]

I'll let Sarah tell her side the story if she'd like. As for mine, I'll have to go back two years to tell it.

My very first trip to Eastern TN was to visit my sister and her family for Thanksgiving, 2007. I had promised my mom I'd fly to Knoxville with her and we'd all spend the week together. Sarah and I were divorced at the time, and she had all the kids, so I would have spent the time working anyway.

I fell in love with Eastern TN that week. I started making plans to move to the area as soon as a good opportunity presented itself. As luck would have it, I found myself in Chattanooga in February, 2008 for a week long training class along with some friends from a local company with whom I was working closely at the time. Almost immediately, I felt that this was where I needed to be.

As they tend to do, things happened, opportunities came, and my son and I moved here in August, 2008, just in time for him to start school. I took a huge leap and started my own company doing telecom consulting work. The company I mentioned before was my prime customer, and I found I was able to make a decent living. I still felt something wasn't quite right, though.

Throughout the end of 2008, I saw the "If You Hate Church" sign by the Rave on an almost daily basis, and it made me think, alot. I hadn't been inside a church, except for a funeral, in many years. I was raised in a Southern Baptist/Catholic home and had attended both churches. I came to realize early on, though, that most people in either church were there to be seen there, and few really took it to heart and lived it. I was never comfortable in situations like that and for better or worse, left church about the time I joined the Marine Corps. I was still spiritual, but had no room in my life for what I termed "Organized Religion".

In July, 2009, a friend of mine told me about this new church she and her family had been to. I thought it sounded interesting, so I checked it out online, and showed it to my son. That weekend we decided we'd go at least once and see what it was about.

I knew from the first moment Cap'n Mike greeted us on the steps into the building that there was something different here. I felt more at home here in the first two minutes than I've felt in any other church I've every been in. I immediately felt at peace and knew that folks were glad to have me here. I felt like I belonged. I was home.

A couple of weeks after that, Sarah and I made the decision to try again. She and our daughters had moved to Central TN from South LA. We had been spending more and more time together as a family. I can't speak for Sarah, but I know she and the girls liked the church the first time we took them, and it has been an important part of our lives ever since.

I find myself looking forward to being at the church. I've found peace though His grace and your acceptance, and I am truly thankful for that.

[Ryan May]

This is what it's all about, Joe! I've heard your story before, but loved hearing it again. We're so grateful for you and your family and your willingness to serve with us so sacrificially each weekend. Can't begin to express how thankful we are for you!!

[Kristen Arp]

Year one at the Net has been Year one in so many ways for Cory and I. For the first time in our lives, we took the challenge God had laid before us to step out from a very comfortable and smooth life into the unknown. Learning to truly trust God with our lives has been one of hardest things I've ever had to do. For so long, we trusted each other, our family, our church, and our schedules... and life was "good." I am thankful that when we finally took that step out of our comfort zone into what the Lord was compelling us to do, the Net Church was there.
We found encouragement, strength, and family at the Net. Our eyes have been opened by the beautiful uniqueness of the body of Christ. For the first time, I am beginning to understand the body of Christ and the importance of every one in our church community.
Signing over my rights to controlling my life has not been easy and trusting the Lord is a daily growth experience, but I am thankful. I look forward to continuing to deepen my relationship with Christ and my community at the Net.
We love you all.

[Ryan May]

Cory and Kristen... We love you guys and look forward to seeing God use you in the coming months and years in the lives of our members!!