Finding Our Church Home....

Colton & Emily Berry

Knowing how important it is to find a community and fellowship through a church, soon after moving to Pensacola, my husband and I spent a good amount of time online looking for churches that we felt like we should try out. We came across Heights Baptist Church and liked the information that was posted and put it on our list. Sunday rolls around, we are in the parking lot, and a hundred things are going through my mind. Even for someone who grew up in church, walking into an unfamiliar place can be intimidating. What door should we walk in? Were we dressed okay? Is there still room open on the back row?

Welcoming Colton & Emily to our church family!

We approached the front doors and were quickly greeted and welcomed in. “I’m Emily, this is my husband, Colton, and we just moved here!” was repeated a few times- not in annoyance, but rather, in response to many warm, friendly people genuinely curious about who we were and happy to see us there that morning. I immediately felt silly for worrying about all those things in the parking lot and could tell that this place was special. I looked over at Colton, trying to gauge his reaction, and he seemed just as comfortable as I did.

As the service wrapped up and we headed home, we could not stop sharing the things we enjoyed about the service, all the love we had just encountered as two strangers in this city, and agreed that we felt like Heights could really be our home. Next Sunday, sticking to our list, we visited another church we had found. We enjoyed the service a lot, but once we started talking on the way home, we quickly realized something: the Lord was pulling us back to Heights Baptist Church. I am thankful the Lord spoke to us so quickly and clearly and that we listened because Heights has been the biggest blessing to us. We have each grown closer to Him, gotten out of our comfort zones, and found a family here that we love dearly. Knowing that we will be moving away from Pensacola in a couple years and won’t be able to stay at Heights Baptist Church already breaks my heart, but we are fervently cherishing every memory and friendship we gain here!

Emily and Colton