by Tina Badger

I met a movie star – four years ago – at church! Now, by church, I mean the three rooms we rented to hold our weekly services in a dance/rehearsal studio. One room was the auditorium, one the nursery and children’s classroom, and the other was the teen room and foyer.

I was headed to the restroom between Sunday school and morning service when I saw an older woman I recognized but could not figure out how I knew her. Had I met her while out door knocking? Had she attended one of our services? I just couldn’t place her, so I did the one thing that seemed logical! “Excuse me…you look very familiar…do I know you?” With a flip of a hand through her hair she responded, “Of course, daaahhhling! I’m a star!” And then she whisked through the door into another studio. It took me about three weeks to figure out that I had just “met” Lily Tomlin.

Five years ago the Lord burdened my husband, Rob, to start Victory Baptist Church in North Hollywood, California. My husband was still a senior in college, so we began by commuting an hour down each Saturday to knock on doors and then again on Sunday for our services. A few days after his graduation, we officially moved to North Hollywood. Now, I am a country girl at heart (you know…green acres is the place for me – open space, fresh air, peace and quiet, privacy), so moving to this city was difficult at first. A few weeks after the move, we made a trip to the nearby three-story Wal-Mart. Now I know many of you are thinking – how bad can this city be if it has a Wal-Mart that big?!? We walked in the front doors, were greeted by the host, and immediately my eyes fell on the escalator. Now I know there is nothing uncommon about seeing an escalator in a store, but what sent me over the edge was the fact that right next to the people escalator was the shopping cart escalator. The minute I saw that contraption I began to sob, right there in the middle of the store! My husband and girls tried to be sympathetic but had to keep looking away because they were laughing at me. That day I was reminded that my loving Heavenly Father has a good sense of humor. Breaking down in that store, over something so silly, made me realize this was where God had called our family. This was my new home, and I could either cry about it and be miserable or be thankful that God was allowing us to serve Him in this needy city!

Paul said in Philippians 4:11 “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” He had decided that no matter what he encountered in his ministry, he would find his contentment and strength in the Lord. As a church planter’s wife, there are a lot of “states” to be in! In the past five years I have held the title of nursery worker and director, ladies’ ministry director, ladies’ counselor, teen girls’ counselor, Sunday school teacher, junior church teacher, children’s ministry director, church secretary, event coordinator, janitor, home school teacher, and many more – all at the same time. I have taught many Sunday school lessons while bouncing a crying baby on my hip and doing everything I can not to lose the children’s attention. I have spent many days rejoicing with people over their salvation, sat across from ladies as we worked through discipleship curriculum, but also have had nights of tears over things like our girls not having a “regular” school to attend or not having any girls their age at our church. There have been days enjoying fellowship in our home with members of our church, and days of loneliness when I wish for family or old friends to be near. But no matter what “state” I find myself, whether it be a mountain-top day or a valley-day, I am finding the longer we are in North Hollywood, I cannot help but be content! This is what God has chosen for me to do with my life. How can I not be content when I get to have a part in helping others come to know Christ as their Saviour?  I get to aid in their journey as they change their lives for His honor and glory!

Being a church planter’s wife, for me, has boiled down to submitting to God’s will and learning to be content in His sustaining grace. I have learned to thank the Lord for allowing me to serve alongside my husband in a city that, at times, has many challenges but has proven to be an extremely rewarding place to minister. Besides, how many of you can say that you have met a movie star – at church?