Sharon Von Fange and her husband Steve are missionary members and LifeGroup leaders in our church family. Sharon and Steve have been married for 32 years.
They have three sons who they couldn't be more proud of.
In her spare time you can find Sharon thrift-shopping or singing a song she has recently written.
LifeGroups do not always include people who share the same interests. In fact, they may not share much in common at all except for maybe a relationship with Jesus, being human (sinful) and some sort of a commitment to being involved with a LifeGroup. It’s in this setting of fellowship we get to see and be a part of the relational magic that Jesus makes happen.
The people in our LifeGroup are very different. I think it looks more like a real live family in that most of us do not get to pick our family or its members. Here are some of the neat things I’ve seen Jesus work through fellowship in our LifeGroup:
- A marriage on the brink of divorce healed by Jesus and a husband now having a relationship with Jesus for the first time. So much healing in this beautiful family. It started with a wife taking a step of faith to pursue a LifeGroup community alone or so she thought!
- An executive at a large company and a homeless man enjoying true friendship. Did I mention the now formerly homeless man plays beautiful jazz guitar?
- Helping people move as a strategy for propelling relationships. I no longer view this act of service as just a task. It can even be fun in community!
- An evening of music at a concert together creatively breaking the ice on fundraising for a member of our LifeGroup as well as providing an opportunity to serve a nearby church, use our gifts and talents and spend time together outside of our normal group rhythm. Lots of synergy on this one! And, Jesus got all the glory in the music at this concert, because it was all about Him.
The verse “but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 ESV) usually comes to my mind when I hear the word fellowship. I’ve seen this verse played out especially when we share stories and when we confess in LifeGroup. We connect with one another on a heart level, we feel less alone in the world and the enemy of our souls no longer has as much of a hold on us as he did when we were keeping these things in the dark.
I wasn’t sold on whether I needed or wanted to be in a LifeGroup, but the results of fellowship in community are convincing me more everyday.