An Invitation to Community with Lucely Tapia

In this episode of Trustworthy, Sarah and Mary Beth continue their conversation about culture and community by interviewing Sarah's former youth group student, Lucely Tapia, whose story embodies what happens when intentional community and discipleship take root. Mary Beth and Sarah start by talking about the culture of Friday night football, where small-town spirit and shared connection come alive and then move into a heartfelt interview with Lucely who is now in college. 

This episode shows how mentorship, vulnerability, and time have transformed Sarah & Lucely's friendship into something lasting and life-giving. Through laughter, reflection, and a few tears, this conversation highlights how God uses relationships across generations to strengthen faith, deepen trust, and remind us what it means to live in true Christian community.

Resources:

The Gentle Art of Discipling Women: Nurturing Authentic Faith in Ourselves and Others

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Transcript

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00:00-00:02
This is Trustworthy.

00:03-00:04
Hi, I'm Sarah.

00:05-00:06
And I'm Mary Beth.

00:07-00:09
Join us for Conversations in Community,

00:10-00:12
established by a trustworthy God.

00:18-00:20
Well, hello there, Mary Beth.

00:20-00:21
Welcome to Trustworthy.

00:22-00:23
Thanks, Sarah.

00:23-00:24
I'm so happy to be here.

00:24-00:25
Thanks for having me on today.

00:26-00:26
You're welcome.

00:27-00:30
I have been wanting to have you on for, well, a couple weeks.

00:31-00:31
(laughing)

00:32-00:33
- Since the last time I was here.

00:33-00:34
- This is the last time you were here.

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- But thanks for having me back and not kicking me out yet.

00:37-00:37
- You're welcome.

00:38-00:39
I love being in community with you.

00:40-00:43
Speaking of community, 'cause that is what we're talking about,

00:43-00:46
I was not surprised to see you Friday night

00:47-00:48
at the homecoming football game.

00:49-00:50
- Go long, Horns.

00:50-00:50
- That's right.

00:51-00:53
And I was thinking a lot about it

00:53-00:56
in the context of what we discussed in our last episode.

00:56-01:03
There's a lot of culture floating around that stadium and a nice community feeling.

01:04-01:05
What was your experience of that?

01:06-01:10
We love Friday Night Football for a lot of reasons.

01:11-01:12
My husband grew up playing football.

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My boys currently play flag football.

01:16-01:22
And we love going to those games because it's one way that we see our boys stepping into

01:22-01:23
culture and community.

01:24-01:29
They immediately want to find their friends and toss a football around on the sidelines.

01:29-01:30
They run into their teachers.

01:31-01:35
We get to see friends from different pockets of life that are all part of that same community.

01:36-01:41
You know, I was able to say, Hey boys, this is one of the ladies from that group of moms

01:41-01:43
that prays for you every week.

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So they're getting those tangible touch points of there are Christians in our broader community

01:50-01:53
who are engaged in supporting the same things we are, which is a great benefit.

01:54-02:01
And also, it is a fun event for our community, and it's a great way to build positive culture

02:01-02:04
that fosters relationship and support for one another.

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And we love it.

02:06-02:07
We're pro Friday Night Football.

02:08-02:13
So I thought it was a really great sort of snapshot of what we've been talking about

02:14-02:14
in the last episode.

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So if you want to know what we're talking about, head to your local high school football game

02:20-02:21
- Yes, can't recommend it enough.

02:23-02:28
And continuing our conversations in community and about community,

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today we get to do an interview.

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I'm excited about it.

02:34-02:37
And this one was someone from your life, Sarah.

02:37-02:42
So I was wondering if you could maybe introduce who our guest is

02:42-02:46
and how you got to know her through the youth group at our church.

02:46-02:48
- Yes, I would absolutely love to.

02:48-02:49
It would be my pleasure.

02:49-02:58
Today, we are interviewing Miss Lucely Tapia, who was one of the girls in my high school

02:58-03:02
youth group back in 2022, I think.

03:03-03:03
That's when I met her.

03:05-03:11
And speaking of culture that creates community, our church, we had to completely revamp our

03:11-03:14
non-existent youth program post-pandemic.

03:15-03:16
Yeah, it got kind of squashed in the pandemic.

03:17-03:17
It was a mess.

03:18-03:26
There was intentionality, there was a lot of prayer, there was a lot of effort, and it

03:27-03:27
happened.

03:27-03:33
So the first year, the start was a little rocky, but boy, it really has grown into an

03:33-03:34
amazing program.

03:35-03:38
If you want more details about that, you can even just listen to our interview we did with

03:38-03:42
Sarah Boninu, one of our youth pastors last season.

03:43-03:51
The culture at the time was really one of acceptance and openness as leaders we were

03:51-03:57
encouraged to make connections and be vulnerable and be praying with our students and talk about

03:57-04:01
the hard stuff that this wasn't just going to be to get together and play kickball,

04:02-04:07
this was going to be to get together and bear our souls so to speak while studying the gospel.

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And I was amazed at how quickly our group of 11th and 12th grade girls formed a bond.

04:17-04:20
Lucely and I have stayed very close since that time.

04:21-04:24
And I've remained in contact with some other young ladies as well.

04:25-04:27
And I think about them still, pray for them.

04:28-04:33
We had another co-leader and she also has stayed in contact with some of the girls.

04:34-04:36
Why did I think about Lucely for this interview?

04:37-04:44
Well, I think about her a lot. She's close to my heart. But that relationship was born out of

04:44-04:54
a culture that was deliberately conceived of and shaped by the Word of God. And our relationship

04:55-05:01
and the community that's come out of that, you know, with these other girls and just the relationship

05:01-05:06
she has with our family now is a testament to the culture that was there. So I couldn't think of a

05:06-05:12
more perfect person to talk to about this. And I'm so humbled that she has agreed to

05:13-05:18
be interviewed. I'm very excited to hear what she has to say to get a younger generation's

05:18-05:24
perspective on these things that we like to talk about and to hear what that culture meant to her

05:24-05:29
and how she absorbed in and engaged with it. Because as you said, y'all are still very close.

05:29-05:32
this relationship has lasted years.

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And there's, I'm sure, lots of good wisdom and truth

05:37-05:39
we can pull from that.

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So let's get to it.

05:41-05:46
- Without further ado, here is Miss Lucely Tapia.

05:47-05:47
- Hello.

05:48-05:50
- Welcome, Lucely.

05:51-05:52
- Hi. - Thank you for having me.

05:52-05:53
I'm so happy to be here.

05:54-05:56
- We are very happy to have you here.

05:58-06:00
It might be a contest of who is happier.

06:01-06:02
Us or you?

06:02-06:03
We're all happy, though.

06:04-06:05
So that's a good place to start.

06:06-06:06
Yes, it is.

06:07-06:10
Well, are you ready to jump right in to a little conversation?

06:11-06:11
I'm ready.

06:11-06:12
Let's do it.

06:12-06:13
Okay.

06:13-06:14
I have some questions for both of you.

06:16-06:17
So I want you each to answer this.

06:19-06:23
Do you remember the first time the two of you met and what was

06:23-06:25
your first impression of the other?

06:27-06:28
Go ahead, Lucely.

06:28-06:31
Yeah, you go first. Okay, perfect. Yeah, I want to hear what you have to say

06:32-06:33
Okay, no

06:34-06:39
Yes, I very much do remember the time that Sarah and I met it was the first time I went to WDS

06:40-06:43
it was around the fall of my senior year and

06:45-06:50
I remember going and I was a little bit scared because I didn't know too many people with the youth group and I felt like a little bit

06:50-06:53
Intimidating and like I feel like sometimes when you start going to a new group

06:53-06:55
It can be a little bit awkward.

06:56-06:57
Just like you're getting to know everybody.

06:58-06:59
Don't know what to talk about.

07:00-07:04
But when like the fun game time was over

07:04-07:05
and it was time for the study,

07:06-07:09
I got to meet the two leaders, which is Alice and then Sarah.

07:10-07:12
And I don't know, I feel like with people,

07:12-07:14
there's usually like an awkward moment.

07:14-07:17
But with Sarah, like Sarah and I just clicked.

07:17-07:20
And I don't know what it was, but I just remember this.

07:20-07:23
Warm, there was just like instant connection.

07:23-07:27
just like sometimes you meet people and you know that you can like instantly

07:27-07:32
trust them or they just like Sarah just had like this warmth about her and it

07:32-07:36
was like oh like I remember like the feeling of like just comfort and warmth

07:36-07:41
and this is someone that the Lord is gonna put into my life and that's just

07:42-07:46
instantly like what I felt about Sarah I was like this is somebody that I'm

07:46-07:50
going to trust and I just remember asking her I was like hey I know not like an

07:50-07:53
active member of Willowdale, but like, can I still come next week?

07:53-07:58
And I just remember her being like, yes, so genuinely excited to have me come back

07:58-07:59
next week.

07:59-08:02
And yeah, that was like our first encounter.

08:03-08:04
That's awesome.

08:04-08:06
Okay, Sarah, let's hear your side of it.

08:08-08:12
Well, I had been impressed by just her comments in the discussion because this

08:12-08:15
conversation took place like at the end of our time.

08:15-08:18
And I had been impressed by her comments in the discussion.

08:18-08:20
And I was like, okay, she's got some depth here.

08:21-08:23
And then when she asked me, oh, well, you know,

08:23-08:24
can I come back?

08:24-08:26
I was just like, yes.

08:28-08:31
And I felt, I mean, it's hard sometimes

08:32-08:34
to look back at that moment, knowing what I know now

08:34-08:36
and what our relationship is now.

08:36-08:37
It's kind of hard to look back,

08:37-08:39
but there was definitely a connection.

08:39-08:40
I would agree with that.

08:41-08:46
But I felt very strongly that she needed to come back.

08:47-08:49
And just the fact that she asked,

08:51-08:54
either she was being super respectful, which was great,

08:55-08:59
but she also was looking for a place where she could belong.

09:00-09:04
And I knew that that was with us and ultimately with me.

09:06-09:08
- Luseli, maybe you could talk a little bit

09:09-09:11
about what was your understanding

09:12-09:13
or experience with Christian community

09:14-09:15
before coming to WDS?

09:16-09:18
And then what kept you coming back there?

09:20-09:23
- Yeah, so I'm a member of a small church

09:23-09:25
in Wilmington, Delaware.

09:25-09:28
And I think it was a great foundation

09:29-09:30
of what community is.

09:30-09:34
I think instantly when I started attending worship service

09:34-09:37
there, they're very grounded in community.

09:38-09:39
Yes, it's very important.

09:40-09:42
And I'm a member of a community group

09:42-09:44
whenever I'm home, right now I'm at school.

09:45-09:48
but I think I've always recognized the importance of it.

09:49-09:53
And I just think the more that I plugged into the community

09:54-09:55
and the more I got to know the families

09:55-09:56
in my community group,

09:57-09:59
the more I realized like, wow, this is like really vital.

09:59-10:02
Like the Lord emphasizes that community

10:02-10:06
is such an important part of just like a spiritual formation

10:07-10:09
and just having a good relationship with the Lord.

10:10-10:12
It's not just having a relationship with the Lord himself,

10:13-10:16
but also having a good vital relationship

10:16-10:18
with the Lord's people as well.

10:19-10:21
But I just think it took months

10:21-10:24
of truly committing to attending community groups

10:24-10:25
and not just like,

10:26-10:28
I think it's very easy to quickly dust something off,

10:28-10:30
like, oh, I wanna do this instead of like,

10:31-10:32
go in a community group.

10:32-10:33
'Cause sometimes I think it can feel like,

10:33-10:35
oh, it's just dinner and a conversation.

10:35-10:37
But I think as the months have gone by,

10:38-10:39
you really realize like, wow,

10:39-10:41
these people are a part of my life.

10:42-10:43
They are helping me in my relationship with the Lord.

10:44-10:45
I can pray for them.

10:45-10:46
I can be here for them.

10:46-10:48
It generally like brings care.

10:49-10:51
So I think with WDS, it was also interesting

10:51-10:53
just because my community group is filled

10:54-10:55
with a lot of families, a lot of older adults,

10:55-10:57
really small, young children.

10:57-11:01
So to finally be in like an environment with people my age,

11:01-11:06
it was different, but also really like motivating

11:06-11:09
like yes, Gen Z is on fire for the Lord.

11:09-11:12
Like people are also had the same motivations

11:12-11:14
me to commit their lives to the Lord.

11:14-11:20
And I think that was really like inspiring and awesome to see, which was like different.

11:22-11:26
I love the description of those two different communities that you've gotten

11:26-11:28
to experience because there's value in both.

11:29-11:29
Yes.

11:30-11:32
And Sarah, question for you.

11:33-11:39
What would you say were the values of the culture at WDS and maybe

11:39-11:45
elsewhere in your life that enabled you to build this relationship with Lucely that

11:45-11:51
went beyond WDS. It's been years now. So what did that culture look like and what was your

11:51-11:55
kind of understanding of Christian community that led to your relationship?

11:57-12:03
I've spoken about this and maybe you've written about it too. When I was a young girl growing up

12:03-12:08
in church, I had women that poured into me through youth group and Sunday school.

12:09-12:14
I can remember one time the pastor's wife sat a bunch of us down and had us write

12:15-12:20
these letters to ourselves in so many years or something like that. And she faithfully mailed

12:20-12:28
those out 10 years later. And that impression, also I had like some older friends that were

12:28-12:30
were Christians that just really mentored me.

12:30-12:35
And those impressions and the way that they consistently

12:37-12:39
stuck by me like through all the years,

12:40-12:43
really made a mark on my life for good.

12:43-12:48
And I wanted to be able to do the same thing.

12:48-12:53
So that environment at WDS, as I mentioned,

12:53-12:56
we were encouraged to pursue relationship,

12:56-13:00
but also because people had poured into me so much in my life,

13:01-13:03
I knew that there was such value in it.

13:04-13:09
And I also had been poured into by older women in our church

13:09-13:13
and just again, at that time knew how much it meant to me.

13:13-13:16
So, gosh, I don't know if I can do this,

13:17-13:18
but here's this girl.

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I mean, there were all the girls in our group, really,

13:21-13:22
that I just loved dearly.

13:23-13:24
But in this particular case,

13:24-13:28
It just worked out that there was room there.

13:28-13:30
You know, there was room both mentally,

13:31-13:34
I think spiritually, I had set the intention.

13:35-13:38
Actually, thinking back years prior to this,

13:39-13:42
our church did a study and a luncheon.

13:42-13:45
And I remember it was all focused on discipling women.

13:46-13:49
And there was a book, I'll have to put it in the show notes

13:49-13:51
'cause I don't remember the author's name,

13:51-13:52
but there was a book we read.

13:52-13:58
was called the gentle art of discipling women, which I thought was kind of a funny title.

13:58-14:00
So it caused me to pick it up.

14:01-14:01
But it is gentle.

14:03-14:05
It happens gradually, I think.

14:05-14:06
You don't always realize it.

14:06-14:09
So maybe that was a long-winded answer, but.

14:10-14:16
No, I'm picking up on something Lucely said and something you said, Sarah, that it takes

14:16-14:24
time and it takes depth of relationship for these things to really make an impact.

14:24-14:29
There's a lot of things that we look for instant gratification right now in our culture and our

14:30-14:36
day-to-day life and y'all are both a testimony to the fact that actually the long haul

14:38-14:43
is how we're kind of designed to operate and that's where you can really build these beautiful

14:44-14:50
relationships. So, Lucely, what would you say your relationship with Sarah looks like now?

14:51-14:53
How would you describe what your relationship is?

14:56-15:00
Well, when I was first thinking about Sarah and I's relationship, I thought it was really funny

15:00-15:07
because sometimes whenever we go out for coffee or if we go out to a restaurant, I think everybody

15:07-15:12
always assumes the dynamic that we're like mom and daughter or it's when I go out with the flowers,

15:12-15:15
they just like think that like I'm part of the pack and it's funny because sometimes people are like

15:16-15:24
who is that and I'm like uh that's Sarah what do you mean? I don't know my relationship with Sarah

15:24-15:31
just feels so natural to me it's like a friendship but it's a mentorship but it's also beyond a friendship

15:32-15:39
and it's just a relationship that I've felt that I've could pour into it emotionally that I can

15:39-15:45
physically put time into and it's something that's never spending time with Sarah is never something

15:45-15:51
that's draining to me as some relationships sometimes can be it's just like some people take a lot and

15:52-15:57
being with Sarah that's I've never felt that way I've always felt that I can be myself and no matter

15:58-16:04
what kind of capacity I'm in sometimes she's seen me at my high stress nursing school level

16:04-16:10
stressors but she's also seen me in my summer mode so I think my relationship

16:10-16:17
with Sarah is beautiful and that I can be myself in any capacity and having

16:17-16:21
someone like Sarah to listen to me and try to understand my struggles has been

16:21-16:26
such a heartfelt thing in my life. I don't know if Sarah like completely

16:26-16:34
understands how genuinely thankful I am to have someone like her in my life. All

16:34-16:40
amazing people to be around and truly like their kindness inspires me and it

16:40-16:45
motivates me to like be able to do the same for someone in my future and

16:45-16:50
whatever the Lord brings me in my future if I'm leading a youth group like Sara

16:51-16:57
or just people in my community in the future. Seeing how Sara has poured so

16:57-17:03
much time into me and loving me it's just really inspiring and our

17:03-17:04
Our relationship is really special

17:05-17:07
and I'm very appreciative for it.

17:09-17:10
- That was so beautiful.

17:10-17:11
Sarah, are you crying yet?

17:12-17:12
(laughing)

17:15-17:16
- There's no crying on the podcast.

17:17-17:18
No, actually we can cry.

17:18-17:19
There's no crying in the car business,

17:20-17:21
but we're not in the car business anymore.

17:21-17:21
We're on the podcast.

17:23-17:25
- No, that was so genuine though, Lucely.

17:25-17:29
And I think that that does speak to the beauty

17:29-17:32
of when things work the way God designed them to.

17:33-17:38
Sarah, how would you say this relationship with Lucelyi has changed you or helped you?

17:40-17:40
Wow.

17:42-17:45
So I am a caretaker.

17:46-17:56
I enjoy taking care of people, but in a way that helps them more truly become who they are.

17:57-17:58
I'm a recovering codependent.

17:58-17:59
Hey, yep, that's me.

18:00-18:07
And I have worked hard to not be overly helpful or enabling

18:07-18:10
or doing too much for people or whatever.

18:11-18:15
But I do enjoy taking care of people, thinking about them,

18:15-18:19
providing things, gifts or just even sending them a text

18:19-18:21
and just being encouraging.

18:21-18:22
I think that's being an encourager

18:22-18:23
is one of my spiritual gifts.

18:24-18:26
It's been, I guess, a few years now

18:26-18:28
that I've known this darling girl.

18:28-18:31
And our relationship, it has changed and grown over the years.

18:31-18:34
I mean, in the very beginning, she was a senior in high school.

18:34-18:37
There were some very specific things that she needed.

18:38-18:41
And our relationship was what it was at that time.

18:41-18:42
And it was great.

18:42-18:45
But since then, like I've kind of taken her under my wing.

18:45-18:47
And Christmas time, yep, you get a stocking.

18:47-18:48
You're part of the family.

18:48-18:53
I mean, it's like, you've said, how do you describe our relationship?

18:53-18:55
And I think I've struggled with that too.

18:55-18:57
It's kind of hard to describe.

18:57-19:00
Like, do I feel motherly feelings towards you?

19:00-19:01
Well, of course you're a kid in college

19:01-19:03
and you need a care package and so here you go.

19:04-19:07
But at the same time, I get so much from you.

19:08-19:12
You are a maturing mature sister in Christ

19:13-19:14
that I know that I can talk to

19:15-19:17
about the things that I'm struggling with.

19:18-19:21
And you point things out to me that I may not have seen.

19:22-19:28
And your perspective is different in some ways in mind.

19:28-19:30
I mean, generationally, but also just in other ways.

19:31-19:35
And also having someone that's in Gen Z

19:35-19:37
that I can call up and say, okay, what does this mean?

19:37-19:41
Because the kids on my team are saying this or whatever.

19:41-19:44
Like, it's very good to have like a little bit

19:44-19:45
of an insider track.

19:45-19:48
So I feel like I'm getting off track

19:48-19:52
from your main question, but I think that what she described

19:52-19:59
accurate is definitely like a mentor mentee, a discipleship, Christian sister, some familial

19:59-20:05
feelings there. I mean, it's, it's, it's kind of hard to define, but it means a lot to me.

20:05-20:11
And I get very excited when I know we're going to spend time together because I keep going,

20:11-20:18
wow, I can't believe she still wants to hang out with me. Doesn't she have better things to do?

20:18-20:22
She's, she's young. It's flattering. Thank you. Thank you for loving me.

20:22-20:24
I love you.

20:24-20:24
No.

20:25-20:25
Okay.

20:26-20:27
No tears.

20:27-20:27
No tears.

20:27-20:28
I mean, tears are allowed.

20:28-20:29
Happy tears.

20:31-20:36
So, Lucille, you hinted at something earlier that I kind of want to go back to.

20:36-20:42
You mentioned that as you go forward in your life and you take on different roles within

20:42-20:49
the body of Christ, whatever that might look like, that you're kind of taking this relationship

20:49-20:56
with Sarah forward into how you might serve in the church, which I think is the whole

20:56-21:02
point. That's the whole point is that when we are discipled, we can then disciple others.

21:04-21:13
Would you say that your understanding of community is different now than it was before this relationship

21:13-21:16
with Sarah started or to maybe change the question a little bit.

21:17-21:21
What do you want to see in terms of Christian community in your life moving forward?

21:24-21:30
I think my understanding of Christian community has definitely, I don't think it's changed,

21:30-21:35
but I think it's developed in its importance in my life, which I think I touched in a little bit.

21:35-21:35
Yeah.

21:36-21:39
I know it's a huge priority, whether I'm at home.

21:40-21:47
So it's my Pennsylvania, well, Eastern Pennsylvania Delaware crew or whether it's here where I live

21:47-21:54
at school, I think it's just, just definitely become more vital right now as a nursing student.

21:55-22:00
How it like impacts my life right now is that because of relationships like this,

22:00-22:07
I'm a mentor, for example, for freshmen. So while it's not specifically like Christian

22:07-22:11
community because I know I have developed deep connection and relationships with people.

22:11-22:17
I know what it takes emotionally and physically to put effort to port into people even though

22:17-22:23
they don't specifically know like, "Oh, I'm doing this to show you the Lord's love. I'm showing you

22:23-22:29
this to make you feel supported so that you have somebody as a freshman." That's just an example

22:29-22:35
of how community is so important. Mentoring freshmen is just vital because sometimes they're

22:35-22:39
like, "Lost and it's just, well, I don't know how to do." So just like being able to pour into other

22:39-22:43
people is something that I think I've learned because I have these relationships in my life

22:43-22:49
at home with Sarah or if it's my other young adult group at my church or something like that.

22:50-22:57
Or just overall as a future nurse or as a nursing student right now, like I look at my patients and

22:58-23:04
I make sure to build that rapport with them. Like the relationship of nurse to patient is so vital

23:04-23:10
important and it brings like the whole community aspect. I'm not just there to like help you feel better like

23:11-23:18
physically but also to let you know that you're supported that you have your community here or wherever I go to like in the future for

23:18-23:23
clinical and stuff like that people will need to also know that they have their community there. So I think just the importance

23:24-23:25
of it has been like

23:27-23:31
just building more and more into depth as the years have gone by so I think that's important.

23:31-23:36
I don't know. I think I went kind of off track there a little bit, but just like the vitalness of it.

23:37-23:40
Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. It's when you understand it

23:41-23:45
at a spiritual level, the ripple effects are that it impacts everything you're doing.

23:46-23:51
Sarah, do you have any other thoughts on kind of that concept of this generational discipleship

23:52-23:53
that you wanted to share?

23:54-23:55
Besides the fact that I'm very proud of her.

23:59-24:08
It's exactly it. I talked about women that discipled me and I am now in turn discipling others.

24:09-24:16
And Lucely also has a great point. We don't need to just keep that in the family of believers.

24:17-24:22
Of course, that is something that we need to look to first, but some of the other

24:22-24:27
interactions I have are with non-believers. It doesn't mean that I can't pour into them.

24:29-24:36
and exercising this discipleship muscle of being discipled or mentored and then in turn

24:36-24:42
discipling others or mentoring others. It is biblical. It helps spiritual formation,

24:42-24:50
just as Lucely said, but I think that it is also a model for a thriving civilization. Down through

24:50-24:55
the history, we have apprentice ships. People learned from their elders, not necessarily

24:55-25:02
their own parents, but through other people. And so I think the more that we do it,

25:03-25:10
the more that others learn how to do it, and then so on and so forth. And I think it's a good way

25:10-25:16
to help people become who they're supposed to be and also better mental health for everyone

25:16-25:21
involved, frankly. That's something that we are struggling with post-pandemic, maybe always were,

25:21-25:27
but it's definitely come to light post pandemic and having someone you know that cares about you

25:28-25:33
or even someone that you're caring for gives you purpose and we need purpose.

25:36-25:43
Yeah, we've talked a number of times on this podcast about how do we build community. We just

25:43-25:49
in our previous episode talked about how do we foster a culture that supports this idea of community

25:50-25:54
But Lucely, we are older than you are.

25:54-25:59
So I want to hear how does your generation build community?

25:59-26:03
What does it look like for you as a Gen Z-er?

26:04-26:06
That we need to learn from?

26:07-26:09
What's going on out there in the world that's really helped us?

26:11-26:16
Well, I think a lot of the time, the issue, including for myself,

26:16-26:19
I'm not saying it's just other people, including myself is like

26:19-26:21
people really struggle to get out of their comfort zones.

26:22-26:24
I think especially now, I think you guys mentioned COVID.

26:25-26:30
Like, I think COVID did a number on people's like just social interactions

26:30-26:33
and how they're able to like interact with one another.

26:34-26:38
And I ran a Bible study for a year here.

26:38-26:42
I was a leader at a Bible study that we called the Pulse.

26:42-26:45
And when we started the Pulse, we noticed that

26:46-26:53
people really just want to feel included and want to feel seen and like who I mean yeah

26:54-26:59
who doesn't so it was like our job to make sure that like it could be like 30 people in a really

27:00-27:06
small tight living room but we wanted people to feel that they were welcome like yes come in hello

27:07-27:16
we are so happy to see you we wanted people to know that we're happy to see them we want to see

27:16-27:19
sometimes people have a little bit of trouble participating in like

27:20-27:23
activities or if it's in Bible study like answering a question but like

27:24-27:29
making sure that people are aware of the fact that they're like oh no I see you and I want to hear

27:29-27:35
from you just making sure that everybody feels included especially just because including myself

27:35-27:40
again it's really hard for me to step out of my comfort zone whether it's showing up to a new

27:40-27:46
event or like somewhere I haven't been before just making people's like you see them like you

27:46-27:50
that they're here, like thank you for coming, thank you for taking your time out of your day.

27:51-27:57
So I think it just takes investing in people nowadays. People just really want to be a part

27:57-28:03
of something, which is something I've also realized in college, like people just want to be included,

28:03-28:08
they want friends, they want people to be in community with, even again, like if it's not

28:08-28:12
like a biblical community, I think everybody, Christian, non-Christian, like just craves that

28:12-28:14
that community no matter what it's in.

28:17-28:20
- It's almost like people are the same

28:21-28:23
as they were 2,000 years ago.

28:24-28:27
I'm glad to know we're not that far off of reality, Sarah.

28:28-28:30
People do, we wanna be known, we wanna be included,

28:30-28:31
we wanna be seen.

28:33-28:34
That stuff never changes, I guess, huh?

28:36-28:41
- I was thinking of a quote that we had

28:41-28:44
in our last episode, the first episode of the season.

28:44-28:45
And we've talked about this before,

28:45-28:47
but I think I said something like,

28:47-28:49
your presence in the room makes a difference.

28:51-28:55
And it truly does on a cellular level.

28:56-28:59
And I'm sure that Lucely could explain this to us

28:59-29:00
much better than I can try to.

29:01-29:05
But our energy, our cellular energy,

29:06-29:07
affects our surroundings.

29:08-29:13
And we can be in a room and have a positive effect

29:13-29:14
or a negative effect.

29:15-29:18
You guys know what it's like when somebody's in a bad mood.

29:18-29:20
You can tell us as soon as you walk in the door.

29:20-29:20
(laughs)

29:21-29:27
But that's exactly what you're talking about, Lucely

29:27-29:28
is people want to be included.

29:28-29:31
They want to be a part of something that's important.

29:34-29:38
- Well, do y'all have any final thoughts

29:38-29:43
on how we can foster this culture of, you know,

29:43-29:46
generational discipleship community,

29:47-29:49
just in general Christian community,

29:50-29:52
any final closing thoughts,

29:53-29:55
drop some wisdom on us, Lucely, no pressure.

29:59-30:02
- Specifically just for like fostering the culture,

30:02-30:05
I think people just want to feel like they fit in.

30:05-30:07
and sometimes that can be hard.

30:09-30:11
Because well, especially where I go to school,

30:12-30:14
being a Christian is not the majority.

30:15-30:17
It can very much sometimes be the minority

30:17-30:20
and going to a school that's relatively,

30:21-30:23
like a party school that can be sometimes challenging

30:23-30:25
just because people are very used to like,

30:26-30:28
oh, I wanna fit in, so I'm gonna go party

30:28-30:32
instead of doing this because I want to fit in.

30:32-30:34
I don't want people to think that I'm different

30:34-30:38
or strange, but also like I think, again,

30:39-30:41
investing in people, people are a lot more curious

30:43-30:45
than like sometimes people think.

30:46-30:47
I have some non-Christian friends

30:47-30:48
and like when I invite them to Bible study,

30:48-30:50
sometimes they are interested and I'm like, wait, really?

30:51-30:52
Like you actually like want to come.

30:52-30:53
So I think investing in people

30:53-30:56
were just like not like pushing so deeply on them.

30:56-30:58
Like, oh no, you need to come.

30:58-31:02
But like showing support and showing like,

31:02-31:03
Hey, no, like this is actually something

31:03-31:06
that's very life giving and is life giving.

31:08-31:10
And when something's important to you,

31:10-31:11
the people around you will notice.

31:12-31:14
They notice things, it's like,

31:14-31:16
"Hey, this is something different and I'm curious.

31:17-31:18
I want to know what they feel."

31:18-31:20
Encouraging people, investing in them,

31:21-31:24
and just by like your fruits, people can tell

31:24-31:26
and are curious and want to join in

31:27-31:29
in whatever makes you who you are.

31:29-31:32
So if you're showing the good fruits of spirit,

31:32-31:34
like people are invested in that,

31:35-31:36
whether they know the Lord or not,

31:36-31:37
and it does bring them in,

31:37-31:39
and it does make you want to dwell

31:39-31:41
with people that are the same.

31:43-31:45
- Sarah, I can totally see why you wanted

31:45-31:46
to keep being friends with Lucely.

31:47-31:48
- She's awesome.

31:49-31:51
- I have a thought.

31:53-31:55
Maybe it's about inviting people

31:55-31:57
to step outside their comfort zone.

31:58-31:59
always.

32:02-32:04
Any other final thoughts from you, Sarah, on

32:05-32:07
bolstering this culture?

32:08-32:13
Be welcoming, be winsome, be open to connections.

32:14-32:15
Keep inviting people.

32:16-32:17
I like that.

32:18-32:21
We sometimes think people don't want to be included, but

32:22-32:23
that's us deciding for them.

32:25-32:26
Just keep inviting people.

32:28-32:30
I like also what you said earlier, Lucely,

32:30-32:32
about stepping outside your comfort zone.

32:32-32:34
It's not always easy to do.

32:35-32:37
I shared in the prologue to this interview

32:37-32:38
that I was nervous.

32:38-32:41
I wasn't sure if the girls would even want to hang out with me.

32:43-32:45
I was not very popular in high school,

32:45-32:47
so I was a little worried about that,

32:49-32:50
but had a good group of girls.

32:50-32:51
- Thanks so much.

32:51-32:52
(laughing)

32:52-32:53
- Oh, thank you.

32:54-32:56
- This has been so fun, Lucely.

32:56-32:57
Thanks for taking time to do this.

32:58-33:00
We really appreciate your insight and perspective

33:01-33:02
and just sharing some of your story.

33:03-33:05
- Of course, thank you guys so much for having me.

33:06-33:07
- Oh, you're so welcome.

33:08-33:10
It has been a joy.

33:12-33:14
- Thank you so much, Lucely, for joining us today.

33:15-33:16
- Thank you.

33:17-33:18
- All right, we'll talk to you soon.

33:19-33:19
(upbeat music)

33:30-33:31
Hey y'all, Mary Beth here.

33:32-33:35
Sarah and I are so glad that you chose to listen to our podcast.

33:36-33:41
And while we think that we're awesome friends to have, we just wanted to clarify that we

33:41-33:45
are not mental health professionals and want you to know that this podcast should not take

33:45-33:47
the place of any paid professional advice.