My Transparent Testimony

Even though you do not know me, I would like to tell you a story of how I was a bad person but thought I was good enough to warrant a place in Heaven. When I was in elementary school, around the age of 6, I was felt like I was generally good person. I felt like my goodness warranted me a spot in heaven. I felt like I followed the Ten Commandments would get me a spot into heaven.

I grew up in a Christian home, but didn’t really grasp the message of Gospel. Without me knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the age of six, I was disobeying my parents, lying to my parents, and was a generally bad kid. I heard scriptural passages and memorized John 3:16, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23 in my Upward small group at seven. Upward is the Christian Basketball ministry outreach program to reach children with the Gospel of Christ through Basketball games and practices. Upward was actually very fun and also very effective on reaching boys and girls with the Gospel of Christ.

One night during Upward Basketball small group, my basketball coach and my spiritual coach, Daniel Johnson, presented me with the Gospel. He presented the fact that I was a sinner and destined on path to go to Hell (Romans 3:23). He explained to me that sin is anything you think, say, or do that displeases God or makes God sad. He also presented the fact that since I was sinner, my payment would be by eternally separated from God forever (Romans 6:23). However, Daniel Johnson told me that there was a way out of my sin and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. He told me that God loved me so much that he sent his only son to die on the cross to take my place for my sin and three days later Jesus Christ rose again conquering sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 5:8; John 3:16). He said all I had to do is believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ, being the only perfect human on earth (2 Corinthians 5:21), sacrificed his life by dying a painful death on the cross to save me from my punishment of sin. Then, three days later, rose again conquering sin and death. By God’s grace, that night in 2008, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior by believing 100% that Jesus died to take my punishment of sin away because he was the only perfect being to do this wonderful deed for me (2 Corinthians 5:21). Then, I confessed my sins of disobeying my parents, lying to my parents, and being a generally bad kid (1 John 1:9).

After I got saved, I knew this was the wrong mentality that my good works will get me into Heaven at the Age of 7. I am glad that I didn’t live this way all my life: James 2:10; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6. It is only by Grace we are saved through Faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). If we stumble in one commandment, we stumble in all the Commandments (James 2:10). Also, there is only way to get to Heaven which is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6)

Three days later, on my way to Church, I asked my parents about baptism. Then a week later, I went before the congregation of Derby First Christian Church and publicly announced my faith in Jesus Christ. Rick Wheeler was the main preacher at that time at Derby First Christian Church (now called South Rock Christian Church). Then another week, later, I got baptized, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as an act of obedience to God and symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In baptism, I was brought up in new life, which the new life is in Christ Jesus. The old has passed away, the New has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

About 1-2 years later, I started the AWANA program to help me learn verses on how to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ. I completed the AWANA program up until 2017 when I reached rock-bottom.

Couple of years later when I was 11, at Amazing Grace Baptist Camp, I pledged my life to the serve God in full-time ministry. I remember sitting in the metal chair in the chapel, after listening to Pastor Holcomb giving his message at Amazing Grace Baptist Camp (AGBC). I remember closing my eyes and said to God “I want to become a minister of God’s Word.” I didn’t know at that time what it would look like. Along the Journey, I had severe spiritual attacks.

After this pledge, in 2013-2014, I started to serve in after-school Bible clubs, fall harvest festival, and also started helping out in VBS as a Small Group Leader. Then a couple of years later 2015-2017, I started to minister to Sparks and loved helping out with children. Then fast forward a couple of years, before I reached rock-bottom which was in the summer of 2017, I led two children to Christ through the Child Evangelism Fellowship program CYIA® because they trained me on how to become a successful children’s missionary within the United States and abroad. September to December of 2017, I was ministering to children through T&T AWANA Program. However, In December of 2017, I hit rock-bottom. However, God redeemed me out of my spiritual rock-bottom. After this rock-bottom hit, I re-pledged my life to totally surrender my life to Christ.

Now, currently, I am 21 years, exactly 10 years later after I made the pledge at Amazing Grace Baptist Camp, God has given me the opportunity of a lifetime to minister Children because God has placed a soft spot on my heart to minister to the unreached children in the United States by participating in Child Evangelism Fellowship 12-week residential children’s missionary training program called Children’s Ministries Institute. With this desire of ministry, knowing the financial hardships that comes with ministry, and the desire to raise a future family, I feel like I can work a tentmaking job and still pursue ministry options through becoming an AWANA commander, a T&T director, and/or a BSF small group leader. .