Care and Community: A City Group’s Love In A Time of Crisis
Where do care and community intersect? When do weekly City Group dinners and talk around the table turn into tangible needs met during life’s inevitable trials? As the body of Christ, how are we to care for one another during seasons of tribulation?
For Katy and Kevin McIntyre the answer to these questions came when their second son made his early arrival into the world at a mere 26 weeks into pregnancy. God’s hand was all over the story of how baby Miles came into the world, and even more evident is the story of community and care that would leave an impact on his parents for a lifetime.
Katy and Kevin are Providence members and City Group leaders who have been faithfully attending Providence since 2017. They have been married since 2019 and are parents to two boys, Ford, who is three and Miles who just turned two at the end of January.
Miles McIntyre, 26 weeks gestation.
While Ford came into the world as planned, the story of Miles’ birth was filled with much more difficulty. Kevin and Katy landed in Arizona to see family in January of 2023 and expected their trip to last only four days. Instead, God had another story to write. Their “quick trip” turned into a 12-week extended stay that would tell the story of how they welcomed Miles into the world.
One hundred and one minutes passed between the start of Katy’s unexpected labor and the time Miles was born. The hours after that were filled with all kinds of emotions as Miles’ underdeveloped body could not be cared for at the hospital where he was born. At just 26 weeks gestation, their family needed to stay in Arizona until he was well enough to go home. The reality of the situation began to settle in and the lack of preparation for the moment seemed too much. The chaos of it all would’ve sent the most seasoned Christians into despair.
That’s when the larger story God was writing began to illuminate in the McIntyres’ trial. The story of how God’s provision and care would be written as a testimony of how the body of Christ cares for its members during times of suffering.
Katy described the care they experienced from their community as “two large waves.” The initial wave was the 12 unexpected weeks spent in Arizona caring for Miles in the NICU. When Miles made his early entry into the world, immediate needs were not just met, but seemed a natural reaction to the situation. Attenders of Katy and Kevin’s City Group stepped into action. They created meal trains, filled financial needs and prayed regularly for Miles’ continued growth and health.
The second wave of care Katy described was the care they received coming home from that life altering experience. When they left home 12 weeks earlier, they left the house, the dog, and their life expecting to come back to it unchanged just a few days later. Instead, they came home not just with a new son, but as a family reformed. Their community was there once again for that trial. From gift cards to flowers and financial aid to the meeting of emotional needs, Katy and Kevin felt cared for from every turn. Their spiritual family met them where they were as Jesus does for his bride.
Care and community should not simply intersect, they must walk hand in hand. There cannot be one without the other. The call as the body of Christ is to care for our members. This can be one of the many ways God’s glory can be revealed on this side of eternity. Just as so many of their City Group members cared for the McIntyres in a time of unexpected circumstances, would we always be a church that willingly cares for those in our midst.
Katy, Miles, Ford, and Kevin McIntyre, Easter 2025.
By Jasey Christensen, May 7, 2025
