The Importance of Joyful Community
As I was thinking about what to write this article about, the one thing the Lord kept bringing to my mind was the importance of joyful company.
This semester I work Monday mornings at the Study Center alone, but on Tuesday evenings I work with Will Nicholson and Emily Weyne. In this season of my life, all my close friends like to call me the “jack of all trades.” I’m a graduating senior who babysits, is a full-time student, interns at the Study Center, serves as a CRU Greek Life leader, and is also getting married this coming August.
Whenever I come into my shift at the Study Center, there’s really no telling where I’m coming from. Sometimes it’s spending time with a friend who has ALS. Sometimes it’s wedding planning. Sometimes it’s class, babysitting, or a Bible study. But almost always, I walk in tired.
Yet every single time I leave the Study Center, I walk out energized, encouraged, and reminded of real truth. No matter what weight I’m carrying or what tasks are looming ahead, I always leave feeling lighter.
A huge part of that is Emily and Will. They cultivate an environment of sincerity and genuine joy that creates what I can only describe as the aroma of Jesus. Of course, this has a real and positive impact on me personally, but it’s also clear that the students who come through the Study Center feel it too.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Emily and Will don’t create this spirit of joy simply because life is easy or because they naturally feel joyful all the time. Instead, they model what it looks like to choose joy daily. And that joy overflows—into me, into the students they interact with, and into the entire atmosphere of the Study Center.
In a season where life feels busy, full, and sometimes overwhelming, I’m reminded how much the people around us matter. Joy is contagious. The way we choose to show up—with sincerity, encouragement, and hope—can change the atmosphere of a room and the hearts of the people in it. I’m incredibly grateful for the joyful company the Lord has placed around me at the Study Center, and for the reminder that sometimes the most powerful ministry is simply showing up with the joy of Christ and letting it overflow into the people around us.
