Happy First Sunday of 2026!

I don't know If I shared that I joined a church back in 2024. I probably started writing about it and forgot or felt like it wasn't worth sharing but me joining a church is really a big deal for a couple of reasons.

1) I have only been a member of three churches in my life: My home church, Paige Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Utica, MS. The church that I helped to plant with my forever brother and friend the late, great "Big John" Perkins, Common Ground Covenant Church in Jackson, MS. The third is my current church, Fellowship of Love Church (FOLC) in Fayetteville, GA.

2) I have attended a few churches in my adulthood but only two have made me want to be a member and actually show up and serve regularly; Common Ground and FOLC. I even started singing again and joined the FOLC praise team in 2025. My friend Kwanza introduced me to FOLC after she visited in early 2024 and we started watching their online services. One of us suggested we go in person and I literally joined church my first time visiting. It was an instant connection! I hadn't felt the feeling that I felt that day since my Common Ground days and that's how I knew.

Growing up, I didn't have choice as to whether or not I would attend church. It was understood. Church was a part of our weekly routine and honestly because it was a forced routine as a child, I rejected the idea of church as a young adult. I believe (to this day) that the church is within you, but as I am growing in age, I recognize the power of actually going to church, participating in corporate worship, and building community. That last part is the probably the most powerful part. I have lived away from my family for almost 12 years now and building community has been the central most important part of surviving life without family near. From building community with my amazing MuckCity (Pahokee, Belle Glade, and South Bay) and West Palm Beach family in Florida to now building community in Georgia, I understand the role that church plays in connecting you to people who share the same faith and the similar values.

Love the communities that I have become a part of.

On New Years Eve I took the girls to watch night service at FOLC. It was our first time ever attending church on New Year's Eve and we all genuinely enjoyed it. After my friend and Pastor John passed in 2022, I honestly never thought I would join another church. But the very first time that I visited it felt like home...it felt like Common Ground. I literally heard a voice in my head say, you're safe, you are home!

My mind and body knew I needed a safe space for what was to come.

Everyone at FOLC has been so kind and welcoming and my youngest even decided to join and be baptized fall of 2025. I don't force the girls to go to church every week like I was as a child, but I do enjoy when they decide to go with me. I want them to choose their faith versus being force fed religious practice.

My faith in God has sustained me through some of the darkest times. My goal is to model faith based living for my girls so they understand the power of believing in something greater than yourself.

Okay, now that I have told you about me joining church, which is totally not the purpose of this post...(here I go again), I want to tell you about the mission that my pastor has us on. This year, the focus of the church is "waiting to excel" which is designed to help all of us identify areas of our individual lives where we can strive for excellence. He has charged himself with helping the congregation excel spiritually, but we have been tasked to identify two areas where we want to excel by Jan. 31st. We actually started this series the last Sunday in December and will be carrying it throughout the month of January.

I am still refining my two areas but will let you know what I land on. I am looking forward to operating in excellence consistently and not allowing imposter syndrome to overtake me. I started with the blog but I want to make sure excellence resonates in all that I do.

Check out the series or subscribe to the FOLC Youtube to watch service live either 8amEST or 10amEST every Sunday! You might even see me singing in the crowd or on the platform for Praise and Worship!

Waiting to Excel Part 1: December 28th 2025 Final Sunday of 2025

Waiting to Excel Part 2: New Years Eve Watch Night Service December 31st 2025

Waiting to Excel Part 3: January 4th 2026 First Sunday FOLC 8am Service

As always, I love each and every one of you and I hope you are ready to excel!

Love,

MichelleRena