This page is dedicated to those who have made a commitment to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The following testimonies have been sent in to help inspire all of us who struggle from time to time in stressful situations. We all have a story to tell and the most important one of all is the time of conversion to our Savior.
Let these stories especially, inspire you to keep witnessing and sharing the Gospel to those outside the family of God. Never give up; never let Satan convince you that anyone is a lost cause and never, never stop looking up!
Send your testimony in for others to be inspired by. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16
How I Met the Lord:
My neighbor and friend, while we were living in Newfane, NY shared Christ with me and explained salvation. This was back in 1988 and we often got together since our daughters (my Krystal at the time was 2 years old) and her daughter Rachel were buddies. Candy loved to cook and drink coffee so while we were drinking coffee and she had something good cooking in the oven, and our girls were playing, she explained how I can know that I can go to heaven. My reaction was " is that all I have to do?" accept that Christ died for me and I am forgiven? She pulled out her King James version of the Bible and showed me! I was raised with some weeks going to church, some not, but never heard the invitation, so that day in my friend and neighbors home, I accepted Christ! Praise God!
Debbie Z. (New York)
How I Met the Lord
I was brought up in a belief that focused on works and not on Salvation. Although I must add that I am greatful that I was taught that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that the Bible was the word of God. That being said I must add that I was never taught that I could read and understand Gods Word....and that by Jesus dying on the cross for our sins it was a gift from God to be accepted and not worked for ( Titus 3:5). In my frustration of not knowing what God expected of me and feeling like I could never work hard enough or be perfect enough to get to Heaven I cried out to Him asking to show me what I did not understand. A special person was brought into my life to share Gods plan for me. That we are ALL sinners (Romans 3:23) and that God had done everything. There was nothing I could do (Romans 5:8), that it happened at the Cross (1 Peter 3:18) and that all I had to do was Believe (trust) Him to take away my sins (John 1:12 ). God knew my heart was ready to receive Him. After hearing and reading His word I then knew the truth. My dear Sister in Christ lead me to the foot of the Cross and brought me to my Sweet Saviors feet. God knew the perfect time when my heart was ready to receive Him. I must add also that it was not without persecution from my family. I held on to Gods promise and have watched as one by one my family has also come to know the Lord. (over 25 years of prayer). I held onto John 10:28. John 3:16....was the first verse I memorized as I felt it summed up all I had not understood. My life today is complete. Not without trials and tribulations, but I can now do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. ( Philippians 4:13). Praise to our Faithful Father!
Pam (New York)
How I Met the Lord
I come from a family that believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. My family stopped attending a church when someone told my grandma she was no longer allowed to tend services because she was living with a man who she only took care of. I was not born yet when this occurred but it is a vital to my testimony. When I was three, my mom would drop me off at church for Sunday school, then children's church, then she would leave for home because she was scared away from church after what had happen. As I got older she gave me the choice as to whether or not I still wanted to go to church, it was always my choice. I never gave up going to services. One summer when I was six I went to VBS (Vacation Bible School) and I knew that my heart needed to belong to Jesus so I talked with a VBS worker and we said the prayer and Jesus came into my heart to live. From that point on I started to grow more in his love. At 16 my youth teacher Glenda Chambers Lawton was doing a study on obedience to God and what baptism was. I knew then that I needed to follow the Lord in obedience and it was a picture of what the Lord did for me. I can never describe the feeling of how I felt after accepting Jesus as my savior as well as my friend or the overflowing warmth and love coming up out of the water that only the Holy Spirit dwelling in you can do.
Since Then:
IT'S A CLIMB -
My life has been a climb these days, but God is in control and knows my destination. I have had many struggles these past few months but my faith has stayed strong because with God everything is possible. Through Joe (husband) losing his job and us losing the house we have became better in understanding what life is, it's a climb. There will always be mountains and times of troubles but God has promised he will see us through it. It's what we do during the climb that matters most. God gives us tests and trials to better understand him and better to equip us for the Kingdom Of God whatever that be - if its to share the gospel or your testimony with others or maybe just to share with someone else who is going through what you went through, to give them hope and encouragement.
God is in complete control of life and I am very blessed these days because God has provided Joe a part-time job and me a possible job at our church. God has given us great friends and family that love us unconditionally and even through everything we have been going through they have stuck by us.
In Christ,
Bobbie Jo (Florida)
How I Met the Lord:
I was raised as a Catholic, so I didn't question anything as most children don't. But as a young adult, I attended a Bible study in a private home. I learned about a complicated sacrificial system to atone for sins. Then God sent the Perfect Lamb whose blood was shed once to cover sins of those who only had to accept the free gift given when Jesus died for me! Why hadn't I heard about this salvation before? I learned about the Resurrection, and how it changed everything. Now we have HOPE! How amazing that Jesus suffered for me! Where would I be without God's grace? (I took that word as a surname to always remind me of His grace.) I crave God's Word, being part of the Body of Christ, having the privilege of prayer, knowing my confessed sins are forgiven, being loved by my God, and having the "Blessed Assurance". Being a Christian doesn't mean life is any easier, but I have a Comforter (who was there when my son died). I have hope!
Donna Grace (Florida)
How I Met the Lord:
As a teenager, I belonged to the youth group at my church. I was 16 years old and the group was going to camp in the Pocono Mts. in eastern Pennsylvania. Around a campfire on one of the last days at camp there was a call to go forward and accept Jesus. I went forward and felt the change in me right away. Unfortunately, I didn't grow very quickly in Christ. I went away to college and continued to go to church, but my faith didn't seem strong.
I married and had a child. When she was only 1 year old, my husband, Jim, started to have health problems. This is when my faith was tested and brought me much closer to the Lord. Jim came through surgery, but the problems continued. I began to read a book my mother-in-law gave me. It was on faith healing, and the author involved stressed how it was not her, but the power of the Lord that was doing the healing.
So, I decided to go to the best source, which was the Bible. I devoured the gospels and wept as I read how Jesus was crucified for our sins. And I also learned that He loved me and would be there for me during difficult times ahead, and there would be many. My faith was growing and it carried me through the death of my 32 year old husband, and the challenge to be head of the household with 2 small children. When God takes our loved ones home, He give us the strength to go on.
Submitted by:
Lois (Florida)
How I Met the Lord:
I grew up in a Christian home, I made a profession of faith in VBS when I was eight years old but it wasn't genuine. When I was sixteen years old I attended a Nicky Cruz Crusade and walked forward to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. I struggled with doubt, something Satan is good at creating, and the Lord gave me this verse, Ephesians 1:13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom ye also believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise". That has been my answer to Satan ever since.
Since Then:
I married my first love and have been married to him since 1976. We have three wonderful children and two grand daughters. I have been privileged to serve the Lord in many churches as an Awana leader, teaching Sunday School, cleaning and behind the scenes work, missions trips. I am now a pastor's wife. It is amazing to see what God can do with a life that's surrendered to Him.
Lou Ann (Missouri)
How I met the Lord -
I was saved in 1995. I grew up in a loving Catholic home. I had always had a desire to know Jesus but didn't know how. I divorced in 1993 and remarried. The Lord was working in my life and I didn't know it. After I married the 2nd time, I received a call from a woman wanting to know if we would take on a foreign exchange student from Tiland. She said his parents wanted him in the christian school down the street, so I said yes. His name was Tao and he was Buddhist. He knew nothing about Jesus. One night when he needed help with homework I realized I didn't know anything about Jesus either. I went to the school to talk to his teacher and he invited me and my family to church on Sunday. We went to the church and I was saved that morning.
SINCE THEN:
The Lord has done amazing things in my life since then. I reconciled with my first husband and have my family back together again. The Lord has put wonderful Christian friends in my life. I won't say that everything in my life has been great since that day. There have been a lot of bumps in the road, but now I know that Jesus is there to help get over those bumps. The last few months have been tough and I found myself falling away, but a wonderful christian friend of mine reminded me to keep Jesus close and I am. He's a wonderful friend.
Lori (Arkansas)
How I met the Lord-
I came to know Christ at the ripe old age of 4. I don't remember a whole lot about the experience except that I do remember looking out a window and asking Jesus to come into my heart. I was baptised at 6 and I could barely touch the bottom of the baptistry, but I remember it clearly. I understood what it meant to have Jesus in my heart for my age level and as I grew my understanding of my relationship with the Lord also grew. I always had a sincere burden for my friends to come to Christ and I prayed fervently for them and tried as well as any 2nd grader could to explain the plan of salvation. In 4th grade I went to a Christian summer camp and realized that I didn't know an exact date and time of my salvation and being a worrier, I made sure that I was saved during camp. From there I grew in my walk even more. I had wonderful church leaders and my mom who taught me what it meant to be a Christian. In Highschool I think I really began to understand what service was and what it meant to share my faith through acts of service. Most of my friends at that time shared Christ through various musical talents, which although I tried, I never did have. It was through a loving and encouraging drama coach that I realized I could write and act out one person plays to express how I felt about God and to share Biblical truths in a fun and creative way. It was during this time that I was really experiencing some difficulty with my confidence and appearance. My drama coach, Sue Puff, took time weekly to practice with me and to teach me how to present a story confidently. I went on to perform my dramas for a Word of Life Teens Involved Program and I always was able to go to the next competition level with those dramas, however, it wasn't the competition part of it that really made a difference to me. In those practice times during the year, Mrs. Puff showed me how to be the kind of mentor and coach that i would eventally become as an adult.
Since then:
I went off to a Christian College and enjoyed my time there. God really taught me a lot being away from home and on my own. In the 3 short years that I attended I was able to learn how to defend my faith even more confidently and I learned the background to the Bible and how to effectively study the Bible. But even while learning all these academic things about the Bible it wasn't until God took me out of Cedarville and back to a new home in Florida with my family that he taught me the most. Cedarville was my dream college, I loved it, but i was quickly running out of money. I tried for a year to make it work, but financially I really couldn't handle it. My focus was off as well onto who God had for me to marry and I was certain that I found him....except he didn't agree with me which broke my heart. One day while driving home from work I felt the Lord say to me "Nicki, your husband is not in Ohio" and I thought "Well, Lord, I can't move to Florida for that reason....that's crazy". But it did motivate me and I was sure that it was God speaking to my heart b/c there is no way I would have told myself that. So, about a month after that my parents came up from Florida to move me back down to be with them. This was a very difficult transition for me. I had always had a very strained relationship with my step-dad and so moving back into his house was very humiliating and uncomfortable. I arrived in Florida and God used my parents church to really minister to me. I learned so much more about God through our Pastor and during one very pivitol sermon I laid down my "Who am I going to marry mountain" at the Lord's feet. I was always tempted to pick it back up, but it wasn't very long before God brought to my life my now husband. During this time, God taught me so much about being obedient to his will for my life and when I am obedient his blessings far outweigh what I could have planned for myself.
After we were married, I wondered how we could serve the Lord together since we had very different interests in ministry. Then God put into my mind the idea to have a teen puppet team. The church already had most of what we needed to get started and I even had a group of kids already interested. This brought my husband and I together in ministry as I coached the kids and he helped me make a very impressive technical puppet show. For several years I was able to put into practice the things that Mrs. Puff taught me about being a mentor and coach. It was a wonderful time in my life and I enjoyed working with the kids. Currently, God has called me to focus on my kids as much as possible, but whenever I get the opportunity I love to work with kids teaching them to be confident, do the right thing and share God's love with people in a fun and creative way.
Nicki (Florida)
Walking in Peace / division of C.O.P.E. Women's Ministries Sue Puff, author