Christ Community Church of Seventh-day Adventists sits on the edge of the little town of Bessemer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Just a few miles downstream, the Black River spills from one waterfall to the next on its short journey to Lake Superior.

C. Raymond "Ray" Holmes and Gordon Frase are pastors of this community church—Ray's second in this little Michigan town. You see, Ray has always been a seeker of truth—which explains why he left his former parish to become a Seventh-day Adventist minister. The two churches are only a mile from each other! Some of you may have read his story in the book, Stranger In My Home.

Retiring after many years of service, Ray and his wife Shirley have returned to her home community. When Ray was asked to be the church’s pastor, they were delighted.

Having spent a number of years teaching in the seminary, it felt good to pastor a church again where he could put into practice a principle he had always enthusiastically taught—every believer, by virtue of his or her baptism, is a minister of the gospel. Here’s how that principle works at Christ Community.

The first elder, Joseph Hellman, as it turns out, is the son of Ray’s former parish secretary. It was through his mother that Joe became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Joe works at the Gogebic County Mental Health Center where he not only ministers to patients, but to the staff as well. Joe was so excited about sharing his faith and the life of his church, that he offered Bible studies to coworkers during their lunch break.

The Bible study group had only been meeting a few weeks when Connie Cvengros came to work at the center. As Joe got acquainted with Connie he discovered she was a Christian who loved the Lord. Joe naturally asked her if she would like to join the Bible study group. As he got to know Connie better, he thought of Cori Johnston, who attends Christ Community as well, thinking that the two might make good friends. Joe invited Connie to a cooking school at his church and it was there she met Cori. Joe was right—they formed an immediate friendship.

Members at Christ Community are happy to invite their friends and coworkers to their church because they know that “when they come through that door, they are greeted and loved,” says Cori, “And people like that.”

Joe and his wife also invited Connie and Cori to their home to view some Doug Batchelor videos. As Connie developed a closer relationship with her new faith community, she also began to discover new things from the Bible and was eager to learn more.

“I was able to share things at the Bible study that Connie was searching for in her life,” says Cori. “That led to her asking questions. We struck up a friendship.”

All too soon, Connie transferred to work at the prison. But before she left, she trained Cori to replace her. It was one more step in strengthening their relationship.

When Connie transferred to the prison she discovered someone else making the commute from Bessemer, so she made arrangements to carpool with Shar Buck. She discovered that Shar, too, was a Christian and they began to share their faith with each other.

By this time Connie learned to love the people at Christ Community and had begun a series of Bible studies with Ray and Shirley. Connie was so excited about what she was learning that she couldn’t help but share it with Shar. Although Shar was very content in her own church, she could tell Connie was really excited about what she was learning. That excitement for truth was missing in her own experience. Connie could tell Shar was interested in learning more, so she invited her to come to the studies with her.

Shar had been coming only a couple of weeks when Christ Community began its Hope for the Homeland meetings. She and Connie decided to attend. When Ray presented the Bible’s description of God’s remnant people and gave the invitation for anyone to join them, Shar and Connie were the first to jump up.

Shar speaks of her experience. “I see that God is really working in the life of our church. I really sense that. I feel that I am learning so much. There’s still so much to learn—so far to go. The fellowship that we have here, and the leadership that we have, [is evidence that] the Holy Spirit [is] moving—it’s a continuing on-going process. Pastor Holmes has always made it a point to be proactive—encouraging new members to take part in the church and to be active.”

Shar and Connie were both given opportunities to assist with Sabbath school and a series of health seminars, which Shar says is a great opportunity to get into the community. They began to immerse themselves in the life of their church. As new members, they became a part of the decision-making process.

The little church has a significant presence in the community as it provids a Christian day care for families of all faiths. The program is so successful that they operate at full capacity. The church’s ministry to families is so well received and supported that members and others were impressed to build a school where children could continue to learn the principles of Jesus. Even though they are a small church in a small community, they feel this was the direction God was working, so they broke ground.

Because they were in a building project when the opportunity came to be a part of the Hope for Our Day meetings, the church decided they could not participate. Later, when Ray was in Lansing for some meetings, Shar, Connie, and a few other members began to question their previous decision and, in another meeting, rescinded the earlier action.

“We had discussed it and had decided that we needed to do this,” explained Connie. “Even if only one person was to accept the Lord … it would be worth it. You can’t be a dead church and expect growth.”

Shar adds, “We felt that waiting would be missing an opportunity. The Lord might have someone’s heart prepared this fall and it just didn’t seem right to wait until next fall. So we decided to do it.” When Ray returned he was surprised to learn the church decided to accept the challenge to hold Hope for Our Day meetings, but was even more surprised to learn that Shar and others had volunteered to be speakers.

Shar’s parents, George and Audray Haynes, have been active Christians, walking with the Lord for years. “I know they had concerns when I started attending the church here,” said Shar. “They had questions.”

“There were concerns,” Geoerge reported. “Our background has always been church on Sunday. What’s this Saturday business? I had heard the name Seventh-day Adventist, but I never knew what it was.”

Shar’s love for her new church and the things she was learning caused her parents to realize there had been an emptiness in their experience. They realized the things they had been taught just didn’t go along with the things they read in the Bible. So they decided to accept Shar’s invitation to visit Christ Community.

“The people are fantastic and the messages are great,” George discovered. “What has drawn me thoroughly here is the messages and truth that is being taught.”

Even before they asked to become members, Shar’s parents invited other friends to come. And so the cycle continues—every believer a minister. “The Holy Spirit is working,” said Ray. “And the evidence is right here before our eyes, one to another.”

"I know God put me here at this time in my life and in my family’s life,” reports Shar. “Pastor Holmes happened to be here right now and [Connie, Cori, and Joe] were here and [everyone else]. I really know that God has big plans for the Church. I believe it!”

And so, at Christ Community Church of Seventh-day Adventists, love and faith spill over from one life to the next, just as the river spills from one waterfall to another on its way to the sea.

Gary Burns is the Lake Union Herald editor.