Written by Ryan Thurman

“Healing, wholeness, and purposeful collaboration”

I am indebted to the leaders of Antioch Network.  In 2005, they welcomed me into a healthy community that had been in the making for 20+ years.  This community of leaders embraced me as part of their family.   They walked alongside me, helping me understand the way God designed and gifted me.  God used them to open my eyes to the breadth and depth of what Jesus invites us into, when we become His disciples; healing, wholeness, and purposeful collaboration with Him, that is rooted in friendship and love

One of the tangible outworking of the belonging, mentoring and support AN provides is the releasing of leaders to initiate new ministries.  For me this was Apprenticeship to Jesus (A2J), a ministry called to help restore discipleship as a way of life by supporting and creating small Christian communities.   A significant piece of this story is how God connected me with Danny Malakowsky, who was being drawn by God in similar ways. God used us and our families to help establish A2J.  Danny soon joined Antioch Network.  We learned from AN the value of becoming deep friends, who care for one another and submit to the strengths of the other.

Stories of God’s work through community

What we received from AN, we have been passing on to others.  The podcast above exemplifies this.  Daniel Malakowsky invites Amber Jesse and Amy Filleman to share their unique and powerful stories of how God uses Christian community as a place where God can heal our deepest wounds, restore our hearts, and awaken new vision and purpose.  First, Amber shares how God used A2J, as she faced the trauma of her father’s life-sentence incarceration and her mother’s passing from cancer.

“Being able to express myself in leadership in a way that was within a community of friendship was a protection for me.  I needed to experience mourning and healing in community, before I could really begin to express my gifting more fully.”

-Amber Jesse

Then, Amy so graciously opens up about her journey to healing after surviving the 2017 Las Vegas shooting at the Route 91 music festival, the deadliest mass shooting in US history at the hands of an individual.

“I sat there thinking it is never going to be well with my soul again, for all those months, those women faithfully sat with me and listened.  I distinctly remember Maureen saying, “you can’t trust God now, but I can trust him for you and I know that He loves you and will do something with this.”  I didn’t believe it…”

-Amy Filleman

We pray this podcast encourages you and stirs your affections for Jesus and reminds you, that he has come to make all things new!