I was born and raised in a loving Christian family. From the very start, I began attending First Covenant Church with my parents. I have many warm memories of Sunday school where I learned lots of Bible stories. As a preschooler, I started going to First Covenant’s Summer Blast; it’s their equivalent to CGBC’s Vacation Bible School. It was there that I was encouraged to accept Christ into my life. I went home and thought about it. At the time, being the young child I was, I had no idea what accepting Christ into my life really meant. I just thought that He was this cool guy who saved everyone so of course I wanted Him in my life. I was about seven when I approached my mom and told her that I wanted to accept Christ. From that point on, Christ began slowly working in my life.

Let me share a little bit about my youth. My character in elementary school was nowhere near how a Christian should conduct oneself. I hung around guys who were quite disrespectful to the people around us. Adults may define this behavior as “boys being boys,” “lack of self-control,” or “impulsive behavior.” But deep inside I knew my behavior was unacceptable. I especially behaved poorly for years to a particular classmate whom I’ve known since Kindergarten. During seventh grade, I was very guilt-ridden by my past behavior towards her and finally was bold enough to apologize profusely. I believe this was the beginning of God working in my life to change me into a more caring, compassionate, and Godly person.

During middle school, I experienced a tough period and had some emotional struggles. It was during that time she reached out to me and helped me with my struggles, despite the fact I was quite undeserving of her help as I had been so horrible to her in the past. The grace that she extended to me really caused me to question and think to myself, “Why, even after all I have done to you, did you extend a hand to me?” I believe that Christ put her in my life to show Himself to me and to make His presence known. Today, not only is she someone whom I consider a close confidant, but also one of my best friends.

During seventh grade, one of my friends who attended CGBC invited me to a TIGS meeting. I began to regularly attend CGBC and it was here where I really started to grow in my faith. Not long after, the Lord blessed me with two friendships that will no doubt last until we are called Home: a brother who always looks out for me and has my back when I am down and a sister who has not only become a role model to me, but also an accountability partner with a genuine heart for the Lord.

I’ve had opportunities to share my faith and witness to a couple of my non-Christian friends whom I’ve known for a long time. It was during this time that I could see God using me to share his word. God was definitely in control by giving me the right words to say, a passion to help my friends understand God’s Gift of eternal life, and a heavy heart for their salvation.

It’s clear to me now that my next step in my Christian faith is water baptism. This is where I publicly declare my faith and obedience to Christ.