Lindsey Berry was recommended on Sunday, November 21st as a Deacon Candidate. On December 5th during our Members Meeting, church members will vote. The following is her testimony explaining how and why she feels called to be a deacon.
I came to Arizona in 2015 to study music at ASU after having grown up in Idaho in a mostly secular home. My senior year of high school saw some of the lowest points of my life spiritually, and I didn’t quite realize it, but I was searching for happiness and purpose in life. During my first semester at ASU, I soon became involved in Cru on campus, and through their ministry and discipleship I was saved. Nothing could explain how the world worked like the Bible. Still, I was rather stubborn toward God in many ways, including church attendance.
A certain Tanyon Berry invited me to go with him to Church on Mill, and we started attending regularly in late 2016. As God grew my desire for Him, I was baptized, became a member here, and started serving on the AV team, too. God opened my heart so much during this time, so that I really started to follow His ways and live my faith. The church here brought me into a healthy community, convicted me of my sins and changed my course, and gave me real things to live for. I am daily grateful for how the church has guided me and loved me. I look back and see many ways I’ve been matured and sanctified.
My role on the worship team has been one facet of this. I started out feeling grumpy to wake up early or attend an extra rehearsal. But serving in this capacity so soon after I started attending Church on Mill was so beneficial to me. It caused me to quickly connect with the community, have a sense of responsibility and contribution for my church, and feel like I was part of our big family. I learned how to better serve sacrificially. And after that, I began to learn what the real priorities of worship are, and how a service is always initiated by God and takes place for the glory of God. The AV team by nature is invisible in a service – a built-in reminder that our work should help the church to focus on the Father and not the worship music or service itself. Through this growth in understanding and my experience working in live sound at my last job, I believe God has been preparing me to respond to the calling He has given me to serve as a deacon of corporate worship.
