Our Stories > This doesn’t happen that often!

Hi. My name is John Calhoun. To be honest with you, I grew up in the church. My parents were always at church as I was growing up and so I would often find myself playing tag with my brothers and playing hide and go seek at 6:30 in the morning while my parents practiced music before church began. 
 
One of the things i’ve noticed over the years is how difficult it is for people to connect with others when they come to church. It’s almost as if they would come with “glassy eyes” you know…almost like they are just staring blankly at a TV screen while other people just kind of walk around them. you shake someone’s hand that you’ve already said hi to and you think to yourself, “is that person alive?” It was almost like, people needed a good shaking before they could fully engage in a conversation.
 
When my wife and I started coming to Ironbridge about 3 and a half years ago, one of the first things we noticed was how kind people were and how interested they were in our lives. They asked about work and our personal lives. People made it really easy to connect and engage in genuine relationships with them. I think it was about 6 months into going to Ironbridge that the light bulb just kind of came on…”this doesn’t happen that often!” 
 
The only thing we realized was missing were people our age. We got together with two other couples at Ironbridge and started meeting and praying and began wondering what it would look like to have a significant group of 20-somethings that caught on to Ironbridge’s mission, “a church that love is building”. Out of this small group came a vision for Crossroads, a group where we committed to, “reaching and leading young adults to become authentic followers of Christ.” We began by reaching out to our personal friends and pursuing people who just happened to look like they needed a place to plug in. 
 
I think my favorite part about being at Ironbridge is getting to see the lightbulb coming on in people who are getting involved in church for the first time or who have been away for awhile. It’s amazing what happens when people see genuine love reaching out and touching their life and transforming their friend’s lives. My hope is that Crossroads and Ironbridge will continue to grow into a safe place where people from all walks of life can become more like Christ.