How I learned there was more to life than my work

Brett Chamberlain was looking for community at NewSpring, and a fishing group helped him see something bigger was missing ...

I knew how important church was to my wife, and worshipping together was important to both of us.

When she decided on NewSpring Rock Hill and immediately became heavily involved, I was not ready for any type of commitment.

But being a part of a good community ended up changing my life.

I was just dying for somebody to talk to.

Living To Work

We moved here from Buffalo, New York, in the summer of 2015 when I accepted a work promotion.  We literally knew nobody except for my boss, who was also from New York.

I was working 12-hour days from an office in my home and then just went to bed. I had no face-to-face contact with anyone and quickly became lonely and homesick. I was just dying for somebody to talk to.

So in the spring of 2016, I decided to sign up for a fishing group through NewSpring. 

I felt the openness to talk about faith.

Questioning Life

Every week we went out on a boat with as many as six people from 8 pm until midnight. I would bring what we called the three Bs — ”bait, beverage and Brett” — and everyone brought their poles.

We would always catch a few fish right after setting anchor, but then nothing for the last two to three hours.  That’s when we would chat with each other and talk about everyday life events.

It was the perfect environment to ask questions that I had, like “How did God fit with your life?” I felt the openness in the church and the community to talk about faith. 

That wasn’t something I saw or felt in New York. It was a different culture where church and Jesus were just not discussed.

I knew asking Jesus into my life was the way forward.

A Son’s Example 

My wife had just recently in New York asked Jesus into her life and was baptized.  She didn’t push. She just prayed that her two “boys,” me and my son, Carter, would follow her lead — and her prayers came true.

Carter got involved with Fuse, and his growth through community made me very happy.  He made a decision to ask Jesus to be his personal savior.

During the message on the Sunday Carter was to be baptized, something made me realize that life and fulfilment was found in an active relationship with Jesus. 

I knew asking Jesus into my life was the way forward, and I immediately wanted to display that publicly by getting baptized, too. It just struck me that, “This is what I need to do, and today is the day to do it.”

My son told me he didn’t see it coming! He could see I didn’t have a relationship with Jesus like his mom had. He was so happy for me to take that step.

Community brought it all together for me.

A Spiritual Family

I am much more at peace in life. Meeting with people several times a week — cookouts, fishing, and feeling so involved and welcome in the church — it had all brought everything together for me.

I have met a whole bunch of really productive, good-hearted people. How are they doing life? Through this church and through Jesus!

Our entire family serves on a Sunday — my wife with Connections, my son with KidSpring, and me with parking and campus safety.

Our hope is that our church can reach out to other people the way it reached out to us.