From There to Here
Bob VerBurg
When Pastor Ron introduced our latest series, “The Spirit Lights the Flame,” he told us the book of Acts tells us how the Church grew from a small group in the upper room to the worldwide body of believers, i.e., how the Church got from there to here. Pastor Ron explained the Gospel of Luke is part 1 of the story and Acts is part 2. But Acts is not the end of the story because the story is still being written. And Hillside has a chapter in that amazing story.
One of the people with whom God is working is Shamber Flore Brown, who is Hillside’s Youth Ministry Assistant. Her story from there to here is an amazing journey of discovering how God’s love and God’s Church bring healing and self-acceptance.
Her story begins with growing up in an abusive home for the first seven years of her life. It was a life of neglect, insecurity, and assault. When she was seven years old, she was adopted into a Christian family near Lansing, Michigan. Her new home provided a sanctuary where the injuries of her first seven years could heal and recover. But as Shamber discovered later, those experiences left emotional scars.
After high school, she got married to an older man but realized almost immediately this was a big mistake. Shamber tells me, “I thought I needed an older man to provide security and a sense of self. But almost immediately, the mind games and emotional cruelty began and I knew I had to get out. Those memories from the first seven years of my life came back. So less than a year later, we were divorced.”
But that experience helped Shamber in her spiritual growth as she realized that no man, nor person, nor thing except God’s love would ever give her the love, security, and validation that God gives. After the divorce, the question was, “Now what?” Shamber told her mom, “Grand Rapids.”
Shamber continues, “I just felt God calling me to Grand Rapids. I didn’t know what that meant, but then I heard Hillside was looking for a youth ministry assistant. My first interview was with Arek over Zoom and it didn’t go at all as I expected. We talked for over an hour and shared deep, personal life experiences. By the end, we were both crying and reassuring each other. After the call, I knew, I just knew God wanted me to be at Hillside.” May 2023 will be Shamber’s first anniversary in her new ministry.
So exactly what is her new ministry? Shamber is in her mid-twenties so she’s still a peer of Hillside’s high school students. So whatever question or crisis a student has, she can give her personal testimony of the abuse and assault of the first seven years of her life. She knows first hand how the power of the Holy Spirit brings healing and self acceptance. Shamber knows from personal experience that God is infinitely patient and as long as she has a spiritual hunger to grow ever closer to God, God will wrap her in His Holy Spirit with peace and warmth.
Shamber loves her new job at Hillside. She loves working with young adults as they find and nurture a constant craving to grow and mature in God’s Church.
In Pastor Ron’s message from February 12, 2023, “The New Community,” he points out how the Holy Spirit gives us mountain-top experiences, that is powerful and emotional highs. But Pastor Ron also pointed out that normal life is not a sustained, emotional mountain-top experience. And that’s where Christ’s Church, the community of believers comes in. We need the structure of a community church to provide fellowship, support, and pastoring. There, we find social connections with other believers who comfort, encourage, and embrace us. This fellowship offers a place for spiritual growth.
Shamber echoes this sentiment when she says: “The impact the church has had on my life is one of freedom. A lot of churches I have attended have opened my eyes to the great freedom and purpose that can be found in Christ. Also, the joys that accompany a relationship with Jesus. Lastly, the church as shown me what stability looks like. Having seen chaos and dysfunction pre-adoption, the stability of the church has shown me what structure looks like.”
Shamber recently renewed a childhood friendship and this past January, Shamber married Ramon Brown. Theirs is a marriage based on mutual respect and a love for God.
“And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task with you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.” - Phil 1:6