Growing up in a non-Christian home, I felt somewhat ashamed of my testimony. Whenever I heard someone share their testimony, they always started with, “I grew up in a Christian home.” It was not until a church camp in high school that I realized that growing up in a non-Christian home made my testimony that much more unique.

My walk with Christ began in elementary school when I spent the night at a friend’s house and then was invited to go to church with them in the morning. I had never been to church prior to that, but my mom had always talked about how we should go, so I agreed to go . Sunday school was interesting, but I did not truly understand the gospel in its entirety. I continued to go to church with my friend and her family for the next year or so until she stopped attending that church. Finding myself without a ride and without anyone to hold me accountable, I stopped going to church. After sixth grade, it was time to look for a middle school. A friend’s mom had mentioned that she was going to a Christian school, so my parents and I decided to check it out. I ended up going to that school and grew in my knowledge of the Bible and of Christ, but not in my relationship with God. In eighth grade, I was invited to CYF by a different friend. I saw that the youth were hungry for Christ and actually enjoyed their time at youth group. The dynamic of the church was different from that of the other church I had gone to and even of my school. Week after week, I went to youth group, but not to Sunday services. That summer, I went to a CBM and that is when I truly accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior and began an intimate relationship with God. There was no specific instance where I truly knew I was a Christian, but as my knowledge of the gospel grew, so did my love for Christ. The Sunday after church camp, I was invited to go to Sunday service. Going to church this time was unlike my first experience. This time, if my friend and her family were out of town and did not go to church, I still found my way there. Even after she left for college, I still continued to attend church. At this point, I realized that my faith was not based on my friend’s faith, but solely on my personal relationship with my Creator.

This past year at CBM, my counselor asked why I had not been baptized yet and I didn’t really have a good reason. She then told me that delayed obedience was, in fact, disobedience. This struck me. I had never thought of it in this way. Knowing that I was blatantly disobeying made me contemplate my baptism more, and evaluate why I thought I wasn’t ready. I am taking this step of water baptism to publicly declare that I am not ashamed of the gospel, that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins to redeem me and that I want to fully live my life for Christ.