Our Values - Authentic Devotion
We believe that love and passion for Jesus has to be the starting point for everything we do. As Frontliners we desire to be growing in our intimacy with Jesus, recognising that it's all about His grace. John talks to Jennie Connolly about how developing her relationship with God has helped her to make some big decisions in her life.
John: Jennie, tell us a little bit about yourself?
Jennie: My name’s Jennie. I’m from Liverpool, I’ve been a Christian just over 2 years and I’m currently living and working in Greece helping out at our church plant Elpitha, led by Trish and Malc Morgan.
John: You grew up in Liverpool, but you haven’t always been a Christian. How did that happen?
Jennie: Well, I was at a sad point in my life, I’d just been through a pretty major relationship break-up and was feeling abandoned by family and friends. I was desperate for change. I approached the only Christian friend I knew, and she asked me to stay with her for a while in New York. I somehow knew that God was getting my attention, so I went. She introduced me to her church friends, and what I saw in them was people who had the same sorts of backgrounds and baggage as me, only they were living free from it. I went along to a church service and it was like God was speaking directly to me, so I responded and gave my life to Jesus!
John: So encouraging to hear that. For those of us who know you, it’s been great to see you growing in your faith. How has that happened?
Jennie: When I got back from the States, my friend who’d introduced me to Jesus helped me connect with a missional community. That was my first experience of Frontline. I was invited to a meal and I rocked up with some random food. They were all so open, warm and welcoming. I was just so hungry for God and wanted to take any opportunity to be among Christians, to ask loads of questions, soak it all up and be in God’s presence. The more I learnt the more I wanted to learn.
Looking back I realise they were helping me with accountability, asking me how I’d got on, setting me little challenges to help me grow in my faith. It’s part of why I ended up doing the Frontline Internship.
John: Tell me a little bit about that, how interning helped you grow in your faith?
Jennie: It was just a natural step to do the internship. Taking a year out has been a massive catalyst in my faith journey, especially around setting patterns and rhythms in life to help me live in a different way. Just things like learning about worship, not just as singing but how we can live all of life as worship. Spending time with God daily. It’s had a real impact on my life. I can’t go back to how things were. When you’ve experienced that adventure of living for God nothing compares with it. The internship helped me to say ‘yes’ to God in bigger and bigger things. Like tithing and trusting God with my money, or heading off to Greece to help our church plant.
John: How are things going in Greece?
Jennie: When I first came over here, for the first few months I did really struggle being away from that community that had invested so much in me. But because of that personal investment in my relationship with God, I was able to turn to God and really rely on him. It was like I’d cut out the ‘middle-man’. It was just me and God. Those habits of reading the Bible and prayer that I developed have really helped me here. So now, when I face a challenge, I go straight to God before I go to a friend. It’s helping me deepen my relationship with him and my trust in him.
John: Jennie, tell us a little bit about yourself?
Jennie: My name’s Jennie. I’m from Liverpool, I’ve been a Christian just over 2 years and I’m currently living and working in Greece helping out at our church plant Elpitha, led by Trish and Malc Morgan.
John: You grew up in Liverpool, but you haven’t always been a Christian. How did that happen?
Jennie: Well, I was at a sad point in my life, I’d just been through a pretty major relationship break-up and was feeling abandoned by family and friends. I was desperate for change. I approached the only Christian friend I knew, and she asked me to stay with her for a while in New York. I somehow knew that God was getting my attention, so I went. She introduced me to her church friends, and what I saw in them was people who had the same sorts of backgrounds and baggage as me, only they were living free from it. I went along to a church service and it was like God was speaking directly to me, so I responded and gave my life to Jesus!
John: So encouraging to hear that. For those of us who know you, it’s been great to see you growing in your faith. How has that happened?
Jennie: When I got back from the States, my friend who’d introduced me to Jesus helped me connect with a missional community. That was my first experience of Frontline. I was invited to a meal and I rocked up with some random food. They were all so open, warm and welcoming. I was just so hungry for God and wanted to take any opportunity to be among Christians, to ask loads of questions, soak it all up and be in God’s presence. The more I learnt the more I wanted to learn.
Looking back I realise they were helping me with accountability, asking me how I’d got on, setting me little challenges to help me grow in my faith. It’s part of why I ended up doing the Frontline Internship.
John: Tell me a little bit about that, how interning helped you grow in your faith?
Jennie: It was just a natural step to do the internship. Taking a year out has been a massive catalyst in my faith journey, especially around setting patterns and rhythms in life to help me live in a different way. Just things like learning about worship, not just as singing but how we can live all of life as worship. Spending time with God daily. It’s had a real impact on my life. I can’t go back to how things were. When you’ve experienced that adventure of living for God nothing compares with it. The internship helped me to say ‘yes’ to God in bigger and bigger things. Like tithing and trusting God with my money, or heading off to Greece to help our church plant.
John: How are things going in Greece?
Jennie: When I first came over here, for the first few months I did really struggle being away from that community that had invested so much in me. But because of that personal investment in my relationship with God, I was able to turn to God and really rely on him. It was like I’d cut out the ‘middle-man’. It was just me and God. Those habits of reading the Bible and prayer that I developed have really helped me here. So now, when I face a challenge, I go straight to God before I go to a friend. It’s helping me deepen my relationship with him and my trust in him.
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