Why I Love Hillside
Joanne Bauer (as told to Margaret Broersma)
All my life, I have been a Baptist. I raised my kids in a Baptist church. But after 11 years in Texas, I came back to GR to find that my daughter had been attending Hillside, so I came along with her. I really liked it a lot and decided that I could easily go to Hillside until I found the right Baptist Church for me.
I’ve always sung in a choir. My heart is full of music - and singing is the greatest way I know to glorify God. But since Hillside doesn’t have a choir, I come to church at 8:15 so I can sit in the front row and sing along with the worship team while they practice before the service. I feel like I’m part of a heavenly choir when I join them.
On all my visits, whether with my daughter’s family or alone, I found people so friendly at Hillside. The very first week, Janet Slager stopped to talk to me. She made me feel so welcome, and she herself was still quite new to the church. A week or two later, Cheryl Stapert invited me to Hilltoppers. What I can say about Hilltoppers is that they sort of just “sucked me right in.” Chatting with other women there, I learned there are many ways to get involved at Hillside. Some of the women invited me to take part in “Hand-to-Hand.” This is a once-a-month activity in which we pack bags of food for school children to take home on the weekends. I figured out that if I showed up early and opened all the bags and left them standing, everyone could fill them so much faster. Now I am known as the bag lady! I especially love sitting down together for coffee and cookies when we are finished.
So people were welcoming and friendly, and I could sing my heart out with this worship team and with this congregation in place of the choir. But as a Baptist, I knew that the most important thing is the preaching of the Word of God. Each week at Hillside, I hear from Pastor Ron some of the best Bible teaching I have ever heard. He doesn’t just give a sermon; he shares enthusiastically what the Word of God has for us, and his enthusiasm for the scripture is catching. You know he’s really into it when he stutters. It’s like he can’t get the Good News out fast enough! He makes listening fun with pictures, stories, and illustrations. I really loved it when he recited from memory how Jesus shows up in every book of the Bible. Now I will never doubt that all the scriptures, both old and new, lead us to Christ.
Pastor Arek has a whole different style of preaching. He loves to share how God loves his people as a father loves his children, illustrating with examples of himself and his own children. He is also enthusiastic about evangelism and shares with great joy the work he has done within the football team at East Kentwood High School. He loves the Lord so much that he can’t help but teach others about Christ.
The Word of God is also taught by women to women at the periodic event called Anchored. Anchored is such a bonding experience for women that I hate to ever miss it. I have also joined the women’s Bible study called Women in the Word. This gives us a chance to go deeper yet and makes the word personal. I have been able to soak in the word of God in all these ways at Hillside. But I was taught all my life that the church is only the church if we serve and give as well as receive.
So many more opportunities opened up for me to serve. I go to the Commonwealth nursing home and interact with the residents monthly. We have so much fun getting them to play Uno with us! Even if they don’t play games, the residents seem to love it when we come. After about a year at Hillside, I was asked to fill in for an absent greeter, and I never quit! I love greeting people at the door, giving a smile or a comment. I especially love high-fives with the children who come through our doors. One of my sweetest joys is to put out the candies that Pastor Ron so lovingly provides. Wint-O-Green seems to be the overall favorite.
It’s been a few years now since I first joined Hillside. I have been so blessed by both the giving and receiving that I love to talk about my church to others. Wearing a Hillside t-shirt helps open the conversation. I still sit in the front row, so I don’t get distracted, and so that I feel like I’m part of the worship team. I’m always glad that, before I knew it, Hillside had chosen me!
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. - John 13:34-35 (NIV)