Details ...
Wedding Day!
Saturday, July 10, 2021
Webcast and Prelude begin at 5:30pm Central Time
Driving Directions:
Remnant Fellowship Church
1230 Franklin Rd.
Brentwood, TN 37027
Wedding colors:
Black, cream, with accents of gold
Registry Information:
Target & Amazon
Their Story...
Hayden Holmes:
My name is Hayden Holmes. My parents have been members of Remnant Fellowship Church since 2007, when I was 6 years old, so I have had the blessing of spending most of my life in this church. In 2013, at the age of 11, my family made the move from Ohio to Tennessee.
When we first moved here, I just considered it “normal” to be surrounded by the blessings of all the church friendships that I had and the fact that my family was unified and focused on God and His desires. It didn’t really dawn on me to work on my own personal relationship with God until my teenage years and closer to my adult life. When I was around 16, God started showing me things in my heart that I needed to work on in order to have a relationship with Him, so that I could actually receive God’s blessings personally and not merely depend on my parents’ relationship to get me into Heaven. I realized that God wanted all of my heart and mind.
A girlfriend – and eventually a wife – was always something that I had desired and prayed for. It wasn’t until I was old enough where I was interested in pursuing that type of relationship that God really opened my eyes to how much I had to work on! I harbored a lot of selfishness and anti-authority in my heart, always thinking that I was smarter or had a better idea than my parents did, which was only bringing me curses and sadness, since that reflects how I treat God’s authority also. Once I changed my attitude and heart, I began to accept the authority line God placed over me, and I opened my mind and heart to what my parents’ leadings were. Soon after, I received the greatest blessing of meeting Madison.
Madison seeks God’s lead in every decision, and she has taught me how to be a servant to others around me, constantly pointing me up to God. Her joy, laughter, and child-like heart encourage me. She is a never wavering gentle spirit with a deep love for God and a desire to put Him first in her life. These are all qualities that drew me to Madison and captured my heart to want to commit my life to her as her husband and to spend the rest of my life with her by my side.- Hayden
I met Madison at work and our connection was almost instant. She was everything I had prayed for and more. We quickly became very good friends and were very comfortable around each other, which wasn’t something that typically came easy for me!
My love and respect for Madison grows more and more each day that I know her. Her love and desire to help others convicts me every day. She seeks God’s lead in every decision, and she has taught me how to be a servant to others around me, constantly pointing me up to God. Her joy, laughter, and child-like heart encourage me. She looks to the needs of others constantly, is slow to speak and quick to listen, and always prays for the right words in any testing situation. She is a never wavering gentle spirit with a deep love for God and a desire to put Him first in her life. These are all qualities that drew me to Madison and captured my heart to want to commit my life to her as her husband and to spend the rest of my life with her by my side.
Without the sermons and teaching poured out at Remnant Fellowship by Gwen Lara, having a life like this would not be possible! There have been countless lessons taught in this church that have changed my life for the better and spurred me on to seek God more and more. The recent 2021 Passover & Resurrection sermons especially convicted me to my core, showing me the things in my heart I had grown complacent with. The sermons once again reminded me not to look sideways at others, but only look to God and follow His Spirit, just as Jesus Christ did. I am incredibly thankful for Gwen and Joe Lara and all of the church leaders for everything they have done and shown me in the past years and for pouring out their lives in a daily example of how to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
I am also incredibly thankful for my parents who have been so patient with me, always pointing me back to God and His desires. They have never wavered or led me astray, but only guided me lovingly. Without them seeking God’s lead first and following the wisdom and truth that God has poured out to us, I would not have the amazing opportunity to marry the love of my life on July 10th, 2021.
I am so thankful that God has given to me the blessing of Madison as my wife. She will always point me back to truth and has faith that I will guide our household into one that will continue to serve God, Jesus Christ, and this church. I am extremely excited to start this next chapter of my life in a church that I know will always lead me to a stronger relationship with God, even as testing comes. I know that with Madison by my side and our eyes set things above, our marriage will be rich and full of God’s blessings.
Madison VanDonsel:
I grew up in New York State. From the earliest age, I can remember going to different churches. My mom was searching for a deeper relationship with God, but she could never seem to find what she was looking for. While I clearly remember visiting different churches, I never had a desire to go back to any of them...I was always confused after the service and there were never any kids there. Then in October of 2013, my mom joined the Remnant Fellowship Church. I was 12 years old at the time and did not really understand what having a relationship with God meant. At first, I felt like I was just watching the Remnant services to do what my mom was doing, because I didn’t understand the concept of webcasting church. The first time I actually met other members from Remnant in person was at a regional gathering in Massachusetts. My sister and I noticed how different the people were, especially the youth! Everyone was so kind, and they genuinely seemed to care about us. This wasn’t what we were used to from the kids that we went to school with back home.
Shortly after my mom started attending Remnant Fellowship, I started middle school. I was at an age where I felt like I knew more than my parents, and I soon became uninterested in church. Anti-authority began to grow in my heart against my mom. She continued to encourage me to webcast with her, but I would find excuses as to why I couldn’t do it -- or when I would webcast with her, I didn’t fully listen to the teaching or the sermon.
Hayden is such an amazing person. He has taught me so much about loving God and putting God first. His example of humility and being under authority has convicted me so much. He is always thinking of others above himself. I love his sense of humor; he never fails to make me laugh and he is always doing sweet gestures to make me happy. I can’t imagine my life without Hayden, and I look forward to growing closer to God together.- Madison
Then, at the age of 15, I had the opportunity to visit the church in person again when we attended that year’s Passover & Resurrection of Christ celebration. Meeting so many church members and making many new friends and seeing how sweet and respectful they were made me finally start to understand what having a personal relationship with God looked like. I remember sitting in the assembly and watching the church service and saying to myself, “This place feels like home.” I made the decision to join the church shortly after that visit! When I returned home, I was so excited to put everything into practice that I was learning, and my whole life changed. I was eventually able to move to Tennessee so that I could attend church in person each week and spend time with others who have the same love for God, and this has been so blessed!
Having a boyfriend had been a desire of my heart for a while, but God always seemed to block it. I feel like God was preparing my heart and asking me to wait for the right person that He had in mind for me. A friend gave me Godly advice to make Him my number one first in my heart before I pursued any other relationship. I prayed for God’s lead, and I asked for Him to make it very clear about when the right time would be to begin dating. I also prayed that if God did open the door to date, it would be with the person that I would one day marry.
Then one day, I heard some friends were about Hayden Holmes. They were saying, “Hayden’s so sweet—if someone dated him, they would be so blessed!” I didn’t know who Hayden was at the time, so I didn’t say anything, but I kept those words about Hayden close to my heart. I began working at a local restaurant, and I was surprised to be scheduled to work the same shift as Hayden! I remember after the shift was over, I knew I liked him. He was so sweet and humble, and he had such a great sense of humor. He made me laugh so much! I am so excited that God has allowed Hayden and I to get to know each other over the last two years. I have grown to love him and his family so much. They have made me feel a part of the family since the beginning.
Hayden is such an amazing person. He has taught me so much about loving God and putting God first. His example of humility and being under authority has convicted me so much. He is always thinking of others above himself. I love his sense of humor; he never fails to make me laugh and he is always doing sweet gestures to make me happy. I can’t imagine my life without Hayden, and I look forward to growing closer to God together.
I am so grateful to God, and I am thankful to Gwen Lara and all the amazing leaders of the Remnant Fellowship Church who put God’s Words from the Bible into practice and who show us the way to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. I am grateful that God has allowed Hayden and me to be married in such an amazing church, gathered around Saints who show us every day how to put God first for a peaceful joy-filled life!
