Taylor

Taylor Perrella grew up around church. She knew the language, knew the songs, and knew the right answers. But what she did not know was what it meant to actually walk with Jesus.

Looking back, she describes her faith as surface level. Church was something she did because her friends did it. God was someone she knew about, but not someone she truly trusted.

Inside, Taylor carried a deep emptiness she could not explain.

“I tried to fill the emptiness with anything that made me feel something, but it always left me more broken.”

As she moved into adulthood, that emptiness only grew louder. She searched for love and belonging in relationships, attention, alcohol, drugs, and partying. Each time, the relief was temporary. The ache always returned.

She wanted to feel wanted. She wanted to feel chosen. She wanted to feel whole.

Instead, she found herself trapped in an unhealthy and abusive marriage. What started as a relationship that made her feel less alone slowly became a place of fear, control, and pain. For years, she convinced herself it would get better. She believed she could fix it. She stayed longer than she should have.

Eventually, she realized she had to leave for her own safety.

When she walked away, the loneliness hit even harder. The shame followed close behind. To cope, she numbed the pain and slipped back into old patterns. Drinking again. Chasing relief again. Running from the ache again.

By the time Taylor moved to Spring, she was exhausted. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually empty. She had reached the end of herself.

Out of desperation, she made a promise to God.

If He would help her through the darkness, she would go to church.

The next Sunday, she walked into Champion Forest expecting judgment. She expected side-eyes. She expected to feel like an outsider.

Instead, she felt welcomed.

She felt seen.

God met her right in the middle of the pain she had tried so hard to hide.

A simple moment at The Grove became the turning point. Another girl sat with her. Talked with her. Treated her like she mattered. It was not a sermon or a program. It was genuine love.

That was the moment everything changed.

Taylor surrendered her past, her shame, and her identity to Jesus.

“The emptiness started to lift. I felt peace. I felt new. I’m learning how to live loved instead of empty.”

Today, Taylor serves faithfully at Champion Forest. She lives in community. She leads Bible studies. She worships in the choir. She opens her life to others the same way someone once opened theirs to her.

Her story is no longer defined by what broke her. It is defined by what healed her.

That is why the NEXT Initiative feels personal.

“I was far from God, and now I get to help make room for the next person who walks in here looking for hope.”

She remembers what it felt like to walk in broken. She remembers what it felt like to be searching. And now she wants to be part of creating space for the next person who comes through the doors carrying the same weight she once carried.

“I don’t want to be on the sidelines. I want to be all in.”

Taylor’s story is a picture of what God does when His people create room for grace. It is a reminder that every seat matters. Every campus matters. Every next step matters.

Because somewhere, right now, there is another Taylor. And she is searching for hope.

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