Stories of Faith Archives

The Bible Made Me Question My Former Religion

Krista with family in front of Golden Gate Bridge

Krista Taduran is one of four children, and grew up in a tight knit family.

“Our whole family would always hold prayer every night and we would all attend the church together.

We were raised as Catholics, she [Mom] told me that Catholicism did not make sense to her. So that’s what led her to taking all of us as a family to go to the Methodist [Church] as it made more sense to her in a way.

My knowledge of God was there was three in one. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit”

Krista thought everyone had the same beliefs, until she met Anrae.

Friends with different religious beliefs

“We were sophomores in high school, and I met him in French class. I did the sign of the cross and the first thing that he told me was ‘I don’t believe in that,’ of course, [for] me, I was very shocked. I was appalled.”

When Anrae revealed he didn’t believe in the Catholic practice of making the sign of the cross and the Trinity, Krista became curious. So when he invited her to a worship service in the Church Of Christ, she eagerly agreed.

“I attended that Bible study, I came ready with my little notebook, with my little pen and as well as with my Bible, I made sure that I listened to every single word that that pastor or [the] minister was going to say that day.

The first lesson that I heard was [about] the eating of blood, and how that was not allowed. [That was] my favorite dish.”

She was shocked, but she was more surprised by what she observed.

If you’re seeking biblical truth, ask the Bible for answers

“The Church Of Christ, what they do is they go through the Bible, [reading] every single verse that’s related to [the] question that you just had⁠—into an answer. And I was amazed, I was there. I was so shocked. The next Bible study that I went to answered more about the Trinity.

The minister told me there was no way that there could be three gods in one. He read to me John 17:1 and 3. He pointed out that Jesus looked up and called out ‘Father.’ The minister then proceeded to tell me, “Jesus was not looking at [in] a mirror. If Jesus was also the Father, then wouldn’t He have not called out at all? He wouldn’t have asked for help or cry out in prayer if He Himself were the all-powerful God.

Jesus was also here on this earth. Flesh and bones. The Almighty God is not made of flesh and bones, but is a spirit.”

Finding Strength During Group Prayers

Everything made sense to her so she wanted to learn more about the teachings of the Church Of Christ, but her parents made her feel guilty about being interested in another religion. They were supposed to be Methodists.

So Krista stopped going to the Bible studies for a while.

She was devastated and felt alone.

But she kept researching.

“I decided to hop onto incmedia.org. That’s where I saw everything. I was introduced to Stories of Faith, the different types of activities that were happening [in] the Church at that time. They’re all posted there. The testimonies from brethren and their conversion stories were what moved me. It made me realize that if they could do it, so can I.”

Inspired by the content on incmedia.org, Krista decided to attend more Bible studies with Anrae.

She became friends with the members of the Church Of Christ and found strength during their group prayers.

“All my friends, all of my first INC friends or Church Of Christ friends that I’ve ever met, were all through social media. And I remember, a couple months before my baptism, we would hold devotional prayer every single night and they would pray for me. They would ask God that, ‘if it is not against Your holy will may You please help her be baptized.’ And we would do that for maybe three consecutive months, every single night at 9pm.”

Those prayers gave her more confidence in her decision and after learning how to pray the right way, Krista started praying for her parents to agree with her decision to become a member of the Church Of Christ.

“Slowly they realized that this Church is safe and that I am in good hands.”

And the day she prayed for finally came.

“My baptism occurred on October 22 2016.

“I remembered waking up at 5 am in the morning, I drove to Montclair here in the Orange County District, with [two of my] best friends. They came to support me. And I remembered asking my mom to come to my baptism. She did. My mom went, and my little sisters [also] came.”

Krista appreciated the support she received during the biggest day of her life, but she knows what her biggest blessing is.

Ready to face life with God

“At one point in my life, I literally was alone, because everything was very one sided. And no one was there to support me, but myself. [However I feel] like the love of God is so powerful, and it makes you whole. Being in the Church [Of Christ], it has taught me that there will always be temptations and persecutions in life that may bring you down, but God will never put you through what you can’t handle.”

I Once Had No Direction in Life

Growing up without a dad, Jonathan felt hopeless and had no sense of direction. But after turning to God, he receives guidance and a sense of self-worth.

Show/Hide Transcript

Jonathan Nguyen: At the age of seven, my dad left. Growing-up, I was dark, I was bitter. I was angry and I was hopeless. How can someone, you know, just leave their child? I was more—I felt unwanted. I didn’t have any guidance.

I never could understand the idea of a God. There was a moment where I was like, “Do I just let everything go?” You know, do I…what’s worth…

[Deep exhale]

Life wasn’t worth living anymore.

[Show open]

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Stories of Faith

My name is Jonathan Nguyen. I was born in San Jose, California but I was raised in Sacramento, California.

I kind of grew up alone, even though I had three siblings. We’re all seven years apart so I always felt like the only child sometimes. And then at the age of seven, I was even more alone because my dad left. So it was just my mom and I in Sacramento together and my siblings were all gone.

Growing-up without a dad, in the beginning I was confused. I was more—I felt unwanted. The lack of a father—a father figure—really affected me. So at times I would just run away, and I ran away from a lot of problems.

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“I Needed Something More”

When I was growing-up with my mom, we weren’t really religious. We were religious when we wanted to be religious. My mom was Buddhist, so we would go to the temple. People would be there and pray. But I was always confused.

Growing [up] Vietnamese-American we celebrated, we celebrated Chinese New Years or Lunar New Years so we would go to the temple. You know, growing-up without a father figure, growing-up with religion or a God—I didn’t have any guidance. I lived it one day at a time. And I was just looking out—I let my emotions rule my decisions. I let, you know, how I felt and how I did things that made me feel good. And so whatever decisions, [whomever] I hung out with it was based [on] emotions, and not teachings, not guidance, not wisdom from anybody. But it was when I never found happiness hanging out with friends that did, you know, did questionable things. And something was always missing.

I always had a friend that was some kind of—had some kind of Christianity belief. Whether it was Protestant, whether it was Catholic. And at times to please that friend I would go with them to a worship service, to a gathering but I never took—I never could understand the idea of a God. Or I never really embraced it and it was—something was always missing. It was a—I felt this void in my heart that I was like, “I needed something more.” And I’m just not truly happy. And there was a moment where I was like, “Do I just let everything go?”

Life wasn’t worth living anymore. And it wasn’t until I met someone that introduced me to the Church Of Christ.

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“I Started Attending Bible Studies”

I don’t want to say that there was no God but I definitely saw there was just, you know, [I was] agnostic, not atheist and so I started attending worship service—the teachings were nice. And at first, it was this big house of worship in San Jose, California. And for years I would drive past it and I just didn’t think about it. Even my mom—when I was growing-up, or right before I was born, my mom had a restaurant right next to it. At the plaza right next to the San Jose house of worship my mom had a restaurant.

There was this time I was playing volleyball, I’m a big volleyball—I love volleyball. And during a—while I was going to college I was in this volleyball class and I was playing but there [were] these four (two male, two female), and they came up to me and they’re like, “Hey, you attend the Church Of Christ, right? You attend—” Then they’re like, “You should play in this tournament we have. We have this volleyball tournament, you know, it’s just good friendly, brotherhood competition.”

And that opened my eyes. And I was like, “Wow, I want to play, many I want to play.” So I started attending Bible studies.

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“It Just Opened Up My Eyes”

At the same time I was going to school and I was going through the Bible studies and during my history class, there were talking about the Catholic inquisition. And at the same time I was learning about that in the Bible studies and it just connected. It was just this, it was this parallel. It was these two, you know, how do you say—it just opened my eyes and I was like, “Wow, this is the Bible, it’s—there’s something to it.

[The Bible] prophesied about things that happened and things that would happen, I mean. And I just kept going and I wanted more. I was thirsting for it. I just wanted to learn more. And it was amazing. Everytime like, I would just around afterwards, I would ask the minister questions, he would answer it from the Bible. But it just felt good to have—to be taught truth.

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“I Was Able To See The Bigger Picture”

There was a specific lesson, it just clicked, it just—it’s the lightbulb in my head just, it just turned on and everything else just started to make sense. All the Bible studies started to make sense, everything just came together and it was about all the prophecies of World War I and World War II. And not just, not just the—about the start of the war, different diseases or famine. The instruments of war. The time period in between World War I and World War II. It just blew my mind and that lesson, there was another lesson that we learned about the true meaning behind 666. And me thirsting for knowledge, thirsting for truth, it was just amazing to hear. I invited my brother to that lesson. So once I learned those lessons everything else just had—it was credible. So I never questioned it because it just came from the Bible. I was like, “This is true. So there’s no—I’m not going to question God’s words, that’s wisdom right there.”

It just made me believe in the Bible even more. You know, when I was going through the Bible studies I didn’t have any moment of resistance. I think coming from a non-religious upbringing, it allowed my mind to be open, fresh for ideas that just made sense. It was logical. So when I was going through the Bible studies, everything just made sense and it connected. Like one lesson after another, after another. And so it was—I never had any doubt. You know, I never had questioned any of the teachings because they all logically made sense. Everything just came together and I finally, I finally got to see the bigger picture.

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“I Cleaned Up”

After joining the Church Of Christ, I just—I cleaned up; I didn’t hang out with the same friends anymore because they didn’t help my faith grow. Anybody that didn’t help my faith grow I just—sad to say but I had to cut them off. And I wanted to become a better person and I loved the person I was and I wanted to become better, especially in my faith.

Growing-up I was dark, I was bitter, I was angry and I was hopeless. You know, now I just have peace. Peace in my heart, peace in my mind. And that everything will be alright. And that our problems [are]—they’re not really that bad. They’re not that big.

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“The Church Of Christ Gave Me Guidance”

You know, after I joined the Church Of Christ and I had more guidance and I had a vision of where I wanted to go—of what I wanted and life ahead of me—I was going towards salvation, of course, working towards salvation, working towards eternal life. Because you know, God saved me. So I wanted to focus my life on Him. And my services to Him.

When I joined the Church [Of Christ] I never knew how to pray. Whether it was just praying to something, to the universe or praying to you know helping in the—praying in the Buddhist prayers. You know, joining the Church [Of Christ] it really helped me learn how to talk to God and ask [Him] for my needs. To open my heart to Him. You know, I’m thankful that the minister really taught me how to pray from my heart and not mere—and not just pray from my brain. Just, you know, let my heart speak and God will listen. It just felt good to—it felt good to tell Him about my day. And how happy I was.

Growing-up without a father and now having children of my own I… I’m grateful that I have God in my life. I’m grateful that I have the Church Of Christ in my life because it helped appreciate what I have and I just want to be the best father for them. I want to be there for them. They’re my blessing from God [that] I wanted but never prayed for. And He gave it to me. I’m just, I’m just grateful.

I’m glad that I’m in the Church Of Christ because it gives me guidance [on] how to be a parent, and how to raise them the right way. And then I know that I’ll do my best so that they can always be under God’s protection and love.

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“God is Wonderful”

If I never joined the Church [Of Christ] I think when times got tough, I wouldn’t know what to do and I would [have] quit. Like what I’ve done most of my life and I would’ve failed my family. I wouldn’t have endured the troubles and I would [have] just quit. But I’m thankful because I know that there’s no quitting. Especially with family, you push through it. It’s just an opportunity to turn to God. It’s just that knowing that everything will be okay. And that God is there to protect you, and that you’ll become stronger out of this and anything that happens in our lives, good or bad, we’re just thankful for it, you know, my family and I. And we just use that opportunity to thank God. And that when—either I’m gone or we’re separated [from our kids] when [our kids] grow older that they will love God more than me. And that they’ll always pray to Him. I can’t just—there’s just, words can’t explain just how much I love, you know, [I] love God and I’m just thankful.

I love… I love sharing my faith and I find it so important to share my faith because I want more people to experience God, to experience what I experienced. And to have God in their life and to protect them. And just the peace and happiness it brings when you finally serve God the right way. I want more people to really experience that because He’s the only one that can save us. God is always there. God is my protector. God is amazing, God is just wonderful, kind. He’s my Father. He’s the one that guides me. You don’t have to worry about anything because you know God has your back.

[Show close]

Forgiving My Alcoholic Father

Growing-up with an alcoholic dad, Jessica needed to find a way to let go of her anger and resentment to avoid the same troubled path her dad took.

“Show/Hide

I got woke up in the middle of the night by my brother and I knew that something wasn’t right. All I said was, “Dad?”, and my brother said, “Yes.” I just started crying, I just knew he didn’t make it, he had passed. I was in a lot of disbelief, a lot of denial, a lot of anger. Anger was the biggest thing that went through me for a really long time. I had had such a wall built around my heart, I didn’t want to let anybody in again. Especially not God.

[Show open]

My name is Jessica, I’m 25 years old. I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and I moved to Maui in 2006.

My childhood was… it was good. I had a great mom who did everything she possibly could being a single mom raising two girls. She was… I never went without anything. My father, on the other hand, he was a great dad, as well, but he struggled with alcohol addiction and mental health issues. And so my life was very unstable. He was there for three months, not there for three months, so it was really hard as a young child to watch your dad go out and be drunk on the street. Today is actually his ten year death anniversary so I’m really emotional.

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He Chose Alcohol Over Me

My relationship with my dad, we were really tight. I loved him. My mom always said that he spoiled me. If I didn’t want to do the dishes I would just say, “But daddy, please!” and he would do it for me. But there was also a lot of heartache in that relationship, a lot of feelings of abandonment.

I never understood why he chose alcohol over me. And I still struggle with that to this day. I felt like I wasn’t perfect enough because he was still going out on the streets and drinking. If I was perfect enough, or better, that would be his driving force to overcome his addiction. It took me a really long time to, you know, learn that even though he was, he did have this addiction, that nothing I did would’ve fixed that. But he needed to be the one willing to make the change. I still struggle to this day with wanting to feel perfect or to feel like I’m the best…because of that.

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A Lot of Anger

My brother, he’s a police officer. He came over one night, and I got [woken] up in the middle of the night by my brother and I knew that something wasn’t right. All I said was, “Dad?”, and my brother said, “Yes.” I just started crying, I just knew he didn’t make it, he had passed. I was in a lot of disbelief, a lot of denial, a lot of anger. Anger was the biggest thing that went through me for a really long time.

My family and I, it was rough. My sister and I, we did a lot of things that we really shouldn’t have done, we rebelled. It strained the relationship with my mother, I had a lot of resentment towards her just because I could never understand why she married my father. Just a lot of anger. I took it out on her, I took it out on my sister. I took it out on everyone around me.

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Is God Real?

My mom was Christian, so we did go to church. But when my father passed away that’s when I turned my back on everything. But I just had so much hate, I felt so empty. I was searching for where I belonged, where I felt whole again. The last church that I went to is The Salvation Army and I felt like I didn’t belong there. There was definitely something missing, I felt empty.

As I got older I started questioning things. I started to question if God was real, who He was, why He brought me here. I had had such a wall built around my heart. I didn’t want to let anybody in again. Especially not God.

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A Dark Spot in My Life

I found myself seeking because I felt like there was a piece of me missing, that I wasn’t complete, that there was a dark spot in my life. And so I was seeking for that, I was seeking for the place that would fill.

After my father passed away I really went through a period of soul searching, trying to find out who I was, how I belonged in this world. I never felt like I had a place where I belonged, or a place where I was loved or wanted… until I found the Church [Of Christ].

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I Was Curious

In 2015 I was introduced to the Church Of Christ. I met Anna and she invited me to a Bible study. And I was curious and wanted to know more. And I did look online and went to the website (incmedia), I did watch a couple evangelical missions that were posted, and I really liked how everything that the minister was speaking about was straight from the Bible. I was like, “wow! That’s kind of cool!” And so I decided to give it a shot and go.

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Biblically-Based

I think the first lesson that I had went to was about the Church Of Christ being the true Church from God, and then I was like, “Well how was that? Why is that?” And he read the Bible and he would say the way to be saved is to enter through Christ, and to enter through Christ you enter through His flock or His fold, and that’s the Church. And I was just like, “Wow! That really makes sense!” Everything was just so in order, and I was like anything I was questioning was just immediately answered, and I had no—I mean, how could you have a doubt about what was being said?

It was different for me that day because the lesson was so biblically-based, and it was just different for me because I had never been to a church where as soon as I walk in everybody is coming up to me, asking me what my name is, telling me that they’re so thankful that I’m here, that, you know, they hope to see me again. And I just felt so loved.

At that time I had really been struggling with my identity and who I was, my identity in Christ. And where I belonged, I had a lot…a sense of not belonging anywhere, not fitting in. I felt this could be where I’m supposed to be.

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The Healing

After my father died and when I was 18, I started working at a place that everybody was partiers, and I, unfortunately, went out with them. And I would drink, myself, and one time I did get behind the [wheel] after I had drank a little bit. And it made me realize that I’m going on the same path as my dad, and I don’t want to do that. You know, my dad was killed by a drunk driver while he was drunk, and here I am, I’m just continuing this destructive cycle that my dad started.

And that really hit home to me, when the minister read in the Bible that we’re not supposed to drink or do drugs.

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“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,…drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

[Galatians 5:19-21 New King James Version]

I felt ashamed and guilty. I think for the Church, what made me know that this is where I’m meant to be was all of the lessons, cumulatively. They all were in line with each other, they were all based on the Bible. I did start to feel the healing. It’s been a long process but I can thankfully say as of today that I’ve forgiven everybody that I had held resentment towards. It was a long road. A long long painful road to forgiveness.

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What Led Me to Forgiveness

I think the hardest to forgive was my father, and the man, you know, that hit him. We saw him maybe 5 years after my dad died, eating in a restaurant. I just ran out crying, I just couldn’t even see him. I hated him. He had been drinking at the baseball field, there were three other cars in the accident and they were all able to avoid my dad, he was the only one. I mean my dad had his fault in the accident, as well. But yea, it was hard to forgive him.

What led me to forgiveness was when I started to learn how to pray in the Church [Of Christ]. And I would just pray to God, “Please take this burden. I’m ready to give it to You. I’m ready to let go. I’m ready to feel whole again, feel complete. The only way to do that is to give my burden, my feeling of resentment and pain to You.” And I just felt like after I prayed that He answered, and He put the grace and forgiveness in my heart.

Praying gave me a sense of knowing that someone was there for me, that I was always surrounded by the Holy Spirit, that God was always with me, and that I never had to worry because He was right there, by my side. He was my Father. In the Church Of Christ I felt my prayers are being answered.

Learning how to pray changed my life. It really changed my life.

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I Found My Wholeness

The Church Of Christ offered a place that I could come to no matter what was going on in my life. I could come there and it offered me a place to talk to God, to get closer to God, to listen to His messages. And it offered a place where I could find who I was, who I was in God. And it offered me a place where I could find my healing.

For me entering the Church meant that I found my healing, I found myself, I found my wholeness. I want everybody to know that, you know, if they’re searching for themselves, or they’re searching for their identity that it can be found through Christ, and through the Church. Through the Church Of Christ.

What I know now is: I know myself. I know who I am, I know why I was created. I know that there’s something better out there and I wish I would have known that when I was younger. And I wish that I would have known so that I could have had this feeling for a lot longer.

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Prayer of Forgiveness

My favorite answered prayer is the prayer of forgiveness—when I asked God to help me forgive. He helped me to forgive my mom, my dad…forgive myself, forgive the man who killed my dad. Without faith I wouldn’t have forgiven, I wouldn’t have met peace.

God is my rescuer. God is my healer. God is love. God is my strength.

To know that I’m not alone, it’s the greatest feeling. It’s something I’ve searched for my whole life. I felt like I finally found that missing piece that I was searching for for so long.

It’s important for me to make it to heaven because I want to meet God, who created me. I want to worship Him, I want to just love Him, just thank Him for everything that He’s done for me.

How My Life Changed When I Found God

Wanting to change his life for the better, a young man accepts an invitation from the Church Of Christ and discovers how his life can be with God in it.

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My name is Michael Russel, I’m from Gaithersburg, Marland, USA. Growing up I never had a father-figure in my life—outside my uncle and my grandfather. And my mom—she did her best that she could for us but it was still kind of taxing on her raising four kids by herself. It became pretty stressful for her and she fell kind of hard on alcohol. It made things unstable but I didn’t really know how to help her.

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Stories of Faith

I was a really hyperactive kid. I was diagnosed with ADHD so I was always jumping around, fidgeting, messing with something, making noise. Because of that I kind of got picked on a lot and so I used to get in lots and lots of fights.

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“Things Got Hectic”

It was hard for me to make friends so I ended up leaning on my twin sister. We shared everything and because of my disposition of being kind of hyperactive, I was kind of annoying to other people. So the only way I could make friends was through her friends.

Once high school came around, that’s when things kind of got—things got really hectic in our lives. I started skipping school and trying to get away from everyone that was like always making fun of me or I would end up skipping school with a few kids from a couple of [my] classes and they always went to parties in the middle of the day. They kind of made me—they kind of distracted me a lot from my life and so I fell pretty hard into that kind of scene.

Trying to be accepted by a group of people that seemed like they were having a lot of fun, I tried really hard to get their approval, you know? Just trying to be accepted by others when you don’t like your own life. It was really stressful on everything, including my mom. So much to the point that she ended up kicking me out of the house when I was 17. So I ended up falling back on those people that I always partied with all the time for help and shelter.

But it’s hard doing your own thing without a support system behind you because my dad wasn’t there and my mom had kicked me out, and my friends were all in and out of bad things so they didn’t really have any foundation. [When] I turned 18 I was able to apply for my first apartment. But even then I was trying to reach out and—reach out to the hands of my friends that were always partying. We would always game together and then they would invite some of their friends along. Two of the guys that came over, they happened to be known drug dealers—and needless to say, we got evicted from there because some of the badder folk, they were still doing drugs and everything. Breaking in and out of the apartment and still trying to have parties and stuff and it became very noisy and even though I was trying to settle things down, they just wouldn’t listen. Eventually, we had all gotten kicked out of [the apartment] and the police had came several times to noise complaints.

And so from that point, I started seeing all the people that refused to change because honestly it kind of disgusted me. So I ended up pulling me and then two of my other friends out of that situation because it just became really bad and I saw them get really delved into it. From that point we—our group started creating an inner circle where we’re like no one else but the people we can really trust now because things [were] getting really crazy with the people we’re hanging around.

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“A Safe Place”

One of my friends that [is] in our inner circle, he was going through his college—he was finishing up his NCLEX for nursing, in his finals in class and one of his close classmates actually happened to be a member of the Church [Of Christ]. And so when we all went out for dinner after the [college] finals she ended up inviting me and a couple of the guys to a couple worship services. Of course, we said no at first. I mean, in the back of my mind I was kind of interested. She ended up inviting me to a couple Unity Games and activities. And then just seeing how involved everybody was with the Church and how close knit everyone was I basically fell in love with it right away because—to have a place where you’re just automatically accepted and everyone’s super friendly and there’s really no like… direct judgement on you. If felt good to finally be in a safe place, you know?

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“Learning to Be A Christian”

I started out [as a] Baptist when I was [really] young. My godmother had us baptized as Baptists and then I went to Jehovah’s Witness, and my grandfather was a big Witness. I delved into [Catholicism] for a little bit because of a few friends but I never got baptized or stuck [with it] because—I don’t know, it was a lot of…a lot of things that felt wrong over there.

So when I came to this Church, my first thought was “I’m not sure how it’s going to be.” Because I never really heard anything [about] it. So that first worship service I remember, was in Gaithersburg and we sat there and listened, and the way they were preaching was very, very sincere and everything—[the minister] mentioned several times they were taking [the answers] right out of the Bible and nothing was from his own opinion. Even though the minister had asked questions to the congregation, I’m looking around waiting for people to answer back or someone that will give their opinion and the minister [says] “No wait, we’ll ask the Bible for the answer.” Sure enough he found a scripture—a passage that would directly answer the question that was there.

[Afterwards] the minister answered all of my questions there that I thought about. Even as I started coming up with more questions I asked, I asked him after the fact and he was able to answer them for me even the ones he wasn’t directly able to answer at that moment. Because in the past churches I’ve been to, they—[would always say] “Oh, don’t try to confuse things brother, just listen and enjoy the service.” Or “Just believe, just believe what you don’t see” kind of deal. People want answers to the things that are confusing them, and if you don’t answer them it’s just going to cause more issues. But for the fact that [in the Church Of Christ] these answers came right out of the Bible and not out of someone’s own opinion or life story was really impressive for me because I didn’t—I had never really read the Bible myself and I didn’t know it was that really direct with everything.

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“Learning to Be A Christian”

After that [worship] service it really impressed me and I felt like I was welcome. Even with the brethren, they were very welcoming to me. With the minister, the teachings and the brethren alone, definitely secured [my decision] to continue coming back for more. And just learning to be a proper Christian definitely helped me to round out my life as well.

The blessings that I’ve received are numerous. Too numerous to count because everything throughout my life has been like an up and down roller coaster. But just learning… learning to listen to the teachings of God, and learning about peace and guarding your heart definitely helped me to calm myself down.

Since I became more and more active in the Church, I started seeing more and more opportunities—just doors opening up on their own. I consider this a blessing from God because where I would normally be distracted and not really absorbing all of the information—because when I was younger I had ADHD and everything—[God] has really found a way to keep me stable and steady so that I can be able to take in everything that I’m taught. Learning to sit still and listen to the minister teach helped me to definitely ground myself and keep myself stable so that I can focus on what I need to be doing.

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“The Cup Runneth Over”

I had to get my GED and I went through my certification programs and I was able to get that and secure a pretty sweet job that takes care of me.

As far as family goes, unfortunately, my mom was taken from us but only like—just according to His plan—as soon as my mom was taken, the following year our dad finally stepped back into our life. As soon as one door closed the other one opened back up and now I have met my father and he looks like me only older and a little bit bigger, and no hair. But he’s a really good guy actually. It was just a lot of misunderstanding throughout childhood. So now I’m blessed to have him in my life as well and then his whole extended family. Plus my sisters all have kids and stuff too.

Needless to say, I joined the Church [Of Christ] and I’ve been a member since—and I think that was 2011. In April, I was baptized. Being part of the Kadiwa [youth group of unmarried brethren ages 18 and up] organization taught me that there’s more to life than just parties and having drunken revelry, and drunken fun here and there. Actually, there’s a lot of great people out there. Especially people that are grounded in their lives and have [a] good sense of direction. That gave me the realization that I don’t need to always be around certain people to have fun but there’s this whole group of people that know how to have fun and good clean fun too. Which is great because being part of that [bad] lifestyle for so long you get fed up with it and when you want something that’s more, I guess more reserved, more relaxed than something like a wild party all the time, the blessings just keep coming forth just like bigger and better family now.

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“Be Open Minded”

Be open minded and put yourself forward to try new things because if you’re so willing to try something that will—that’s temporary or that will pass away shortly—because I’ve tried the things that the world has to offer and they don’t ever last, they’re gone within the night. And so why continue to waste your time on these things? You should keep an open mind and definitely listen out for something that’s greater because the gift that God has to bring lasts forever and the feeling He gives you—you may take a pill that gives you euphoria for a couple [of] hours but the feelings that—the euphoria that faith and God brings to you is always. It’s like never-ending like—”the cup runneth over”, for real.

Why I Walked Away From My Catholic Beliefs

Caisy was confused about her Catholic faith. So she accepted her friend’s invitation to learn about the biblical truths taught in the Church Of Christ.

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Caisy Lynn Lomongo: Growing up, the sign of the cross was very important. If you felt scared or if you’re entering a church, you would do the sign of the cross. I never really understood what it meant, but because I grew up learning it, it was just something that I was used to…and after hearing that lesson it made me really realize why I was doing that. Like, “Why did I follow doing the sign of the cross?” And that really opened my eyes. And after that Bible study, I had to walk out because I felt really emotional.

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Stories of Faith

Caisy: My name is Caisy Lynn Lomongo. I’m 25 years old, and I was born on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

I grew up, it was just me and my mom. I did have a stepfather at the time. We didn’t really have a stable home. I feel like I moved homes, maybe ten times or more. And that made me realize that we’re not living comfortably. My mom never drove so we’d always catch the bus. And sometimes it would rain. And I remember one time on my birthday, we were just waiting for the bus and it really made me sad because I would see other kids with their parents, driving. And I didn’t really want that life for my future, and I wanted to do better.

I went to Sacred Heart Catholic Church. I went with my mom when she was off Sundays, and it was something we would just do every Sunday.

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My Questions About God

Caisy: Growing up my understanding of God was that He had a Son, who was Jesus, and He was sent down. And He would be crucified for our sins. And that was what I learned in Sunday School. And I had to memorize all my prayers.

In Sunday School I asked about the Iglesia Ni Cristo because we were talking about different religions. And I would always pass it every time I go to Waipahu. And my teacher at Sunday School, he was like, “Oh we don’t talk about that religion.” Internally I wondered, “Why doesn’t he talk about that Church?”

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Meeting the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ)

Caisy: I actually got invited from my best friend, Gregory Yee. And he was actually going through Bible study. And at the time, I was actually going through a lot of depression. And he had mentioned that maybe that going to a Bible study would help me clear my mind. What really made me want to go was because my best friend Greg is not really religious at all. He explained to me his experience and how he felt, and I thought that maybe I should just give it a try.

At first I was very hesitant. Because, like anyone, I googled the Church, and I wanted to know more about it just by googling. All that I read was that the brothers and sisters sit on separate sides, and that they were not allowed to eat pig’s blood, which is like a delicacy in the Philippines.

When I first entered there was a minister on a podium. And during that Bible study, it really opened my eyes. The sign of the cross was very important. It was something that you do everywhere. If you felt scared, or if you’re entering a church, or if you’re entering any place that’s Catholic, you would do the sign of the cross. To me, I never really understood what it meant. But because I grew up learning it, it was just something that I was used to.

And to me, after hearing that lesson, it made me really realize like, why I was doing that. Like “Why did I follow, doing the sign of the cross?” And that really opened my eyes. And after that Bible study, I had to walk out because I felt really emotional.

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Talking To God

Caisy: My first experience in the worship service was very different. I sat on the women’s side. And I noticed that people were praying. And at first I didn’t know, that’s what we’re supposed to do. So I just sat there, and I looked around. And I noticed people had their eyes closed, they were bowing their heads. And hearing the choir was so beautiful.

[Choir singing]

“In my duty then I shall continue, though I suffer through so many hardships…”

Caisy: And just hearing the hymns that they were singing about. It was very touching.

During that time when I was praying, I felt like I was just talking to God. And I was praying and telling Him why I’m thankful to be here, what I’m doing here, and what I’d like to learn.

I think at the time while I was attending worship service, I was attending the Iglesia Ni Cristo on the weekdays, and on Sundays I still would attend my Catholic church at Sacred Heart. It was very confusing for me at the time, because I felt like I was cheating on my other church. And at the same time, I wasn’t telling anybody what I was doing. I was just figuring it out on my own.

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I Wanted To Stop Being Confused

Caisy: A big moment for me, was actually around Christmas time where we attend a Midnight Mass. I was still attending the Iglesia Ni Cristo worship services, and I remember hearing during the weekday worship service about Christmas, and why they don’t celebrate Christmas. And I think that was really impactful for me, because I understood the Bible, like, even in Sunday School, we would read from the Bible, but we would never really understand what is in the Bible, what it’s telling us. And I decided not to attend the Midnight Mass. And I told my mom that I was attending Bible studies, and attending a different Church. And she never really understood what that meant for me. She just saw me changing my life and I told my mom and I felt like I was trying to please her—but I wasn’t doing things for myself, and that really put a strain on our relationship.

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Understanding My Faith

Caisy: When you become a Bible student it’s usually a six month process. But for me, it took three years. The reason why it took me three years was I was struggling internally with who I was, with who my friends were, with my mom. And I really had to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do.

I would still be confused, but I would still do things like party, go out with friends, we would drink but at the same time on Sundays I would still attend service. And I would always pray and ask God, “Why am I still doing this?”

Becoming a member in the Church saved my life because I made that firm decision to stop partying, stop drinking, stop being around bad influences in my life. Stop being like everyone else. And I felt like Church was the only thing that was being a main stability in my life.

Even though I went through so many things in the three years that I was struggling, I always go back to that first Bible lesson that I was taken to. The way it made me feel as if there was something guiding me, and that I had to keep going. I always returned back to that first lesson about the sign of the cross. Because how strong that feeling was, it’s something I could never forget. Nothing has ever made me feel that strong, or that feeling of the Holy Spirit.

That was that moment when it clicked. And the moment when the minister says, “There’s not three gods, there’s only one God, and that Jesus isn’t a god. That’s a son. He’s a human being. And that God is…He’s a spirit. And we can feel Him.

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Getting Kicked out of the House

Caisy: The day I told my mom that I was baptized was very difficult because it caused a lot of anger. A lot, she felt betrayed. And that was the time I was actually kicked out of my house.

When my mom told me that I had to move out and I had to leave, and that I’m not the daughter that she raised, that really hurt. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know where to go. I was so shocked. That morning I left, I had to move out. And I attended worship service, and I prayed to God, “What should I do? Should I leave? Should I just take this as a sign of You telling me to do?”

Coincidentally, my friend had told me that she had a room available, and she was renting it out. I think because of the way things just lined up perfectly, I took that as a sign and I moved out of my house.

My answered prayer was that moment where I was asking God to guide me when I was kicked out from my house. When my friend texted me about having a room available I immediately believed that was God showing me that sign.

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Now I Understand Who I Am

I feel like being a member of the Church Of Christ has really changed my life because I understand who I am. Back then, I was very active, doing the right things in the Catholic church. But now I feel like I’m doing the right things in the true Church. And I found my true purpose. And that’s really what was important to me deep down inside, was just finding my purpose, and what I am doing with my life. And I found clarity in the Church Of Christ.

My relationship with my mom is really great right now. She understands that I go to a different Church [from her], I follow a different religion [from her]. She is accepting of who I am, and what I believe in.
I feel that people should give the Church Of Christ a chance because people don’t understand what they’re looking for until they’ve found it. And I feel that if people give the Church a chance, that they are able to find their true purpose. And to me, God is the everlasting love that I’ve always wanted.

God Heals A Broken Family

By the look of that smile, you would never know that Mirna Mendez had a lonely past.

“I was born in Guatemala. My mom had left us with my grandma. I met my mom when I was six years old. She came for us and we moved to Los Angeles in 1982.”

Prayer for a broken family

She was in a new country, and felt lonelier than ever. Mirna didn’t get along with her mom, and her dad wasn’t always present.

“My dad used to drink a lot. He [used] to make promises that he would take us to eat pizza and we used to wait for him. He never came home until probably 5 or 3 am. He didn’t even know where he parked the car or where he put the keys. So, he was drinking a lot and I was really afraid of him.”

Two girls walking with their father on the sidewalk

“And we always prayed for God to protect [ my dad]; for Him to change his life.”

Can Catholic priests forgive my sins?

Like a “good Catholic girl,” she confessed her sins to the priest. But she always wondered how telling a priest her sins could help. She questioned her priest and was surprised by his reaction. “He told me go away and pray 7 Hail Marys.” Without any solid answers, Mirna and her sister, Elba, decided to leave the Catholic Church.

It’s not uncommon to see people leave. A study reveals that young adults start leaving the Catholic church at a young age because of weak attachment to the Church and of disbelief in religion.

Mirna and Elba continued to pray for an answer to her question. “We started praying for two weeks. We prayed and prayed and prayed.” And then two weeks later, they were invited to attend a worship service in the Church Of Christ through a friend, Pakito.

Only God can forgive sins

Mirna, Elba and her dad, Guillermo, accepted Pakito’s invitation to listen to the teachings taught in the Church Of Christ.

“It clearly answered all my questions. I learned you should only pray to God; pray for Him to forgive you. That’s who you should confess your sins to. That lesson made me continue Bible studies. All the questions I had, [were] clearly answered that day. [Whereas] I felt that we were following man’s rules in the Catholic Church, instead of God’s commandments.” They were intrigued and continued to listen to the Bible studies. What they learned shaped them.

Healing a broken home

The words of God taught inside the Church Of Christ inspired Guillermo and healed his relationship with his family. “If you would see him now, he’s a totally different man. He stopped drinking. We started hanging out with him and we’ve grown closer.”

Mirna was deeply inspired.“Seeing my dad, how he was before, and then after you know. He started listening to Bible studies and [was] baptized, how his life changed a lot. I said to myself, “Maybe my life would change too.”

Mirna decided she wanted to take steps toward becoming the best version of herself and joined the Church Of Christ in 1996. “And since then, I’m happy. I’m happy I made that choice.”

It was the most life altering decision she’d ever made, and she has no regrets. “And now that I’m in Church Of Christ, I’m complete. I mean, I feel complete because I know that God is with me. I really, truly know that God is with me. He answered all my prayers. I’m in a happy marriage and my family’s relationship has grown stronger. My mom has listened to a few Bible studies and I feel God’s love is getting to her. She has apologized for everything that she has done to me, and she’s nicer and sweeter to me. “

Since then, Mirna has never looked back. “I started with little faith and now, it’s getting stronger. I’m learning more every day to be faithful to God by showing Him how important He is to me and living with His words deep in my heart.”

Overcoming Sadness in the Midst of Chaos

Life is hard when you don’t know where to turn. A young woman struggling with family problems finds the peace she needs to overcome her sadness.

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Shannon Santamaria: I was in a very troubled situation where… I didn’t know who to trust. I didn’t know whether to trust my family.

I knew at the end of the day, no matter how busy I was, no matter how social I was, I was by myself. It was just me. I became angry inside. I was sad all the time.

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Stories of Faith

Shannon: I’m Shannon Santamaria. I’m 22 years old, and I’m from Waipahu, Hawaii, but I’m originally from San Diego, California.

Growing-up, my sisters and I, we were really close. We relied on each other for basically everything. [My] mom, she was always busy at work, and so was my stepdad. So a lot of our childhood was my older sister taking care of us.

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I Did What My Parents Wanted

Shannon: We actually attended a private school, a private Catholic school. There we would have our regular classes but alongside with that, we’d learn about “God who is Jesus Christ” because it’s Catholic. And we’d learn about their teachings, the Catholic teachings. And growing up, we still attended Catholic masses every Sunday. But I still didn’t really understand the importance of it. I attended because my parents wanted me to go, so we just decided to attend. It wasn’t something that I found interesting.

We only prayed during holidays. Like Christmas and Easter were major holidays for us in our household.

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I Became Angry Inside

Shannon: Our family was going through some problems, and I didn’t have anyone to turn to. Things were starting to pile up, and problems came at me fast.

I didn’t want to be the weak person, to be helpless. I wanted to be the one to help my family. And so, I began looking for jobs.

And as my family problems kept coming, I became very resentful. I became angry inside. I was sad all the time. Wherever I went, I just tried to hide it with happiness, with a smile. I didn’t know what to do. I just knew I had to keep it together.

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A Mystery of Faith

Shannon: I met a friend in high school, and she actually asked me about Catholicism. And her question was, “Why would you believe that Christ is God if He’s the Son of God?” And even though I’ve had that question lingering in my mind, it wasn’t until someone said it to me where I started questioning the Catholic faith.

And then I began asking them questions. And then they just said, “Just come to one of our evangelical missions.”

I didn’t take on the evangelical mission right away. Rather, I asked my dad. And then my dad said, “Maybe you can go to mass. Maybe you need to go to Bible studies because you’re questioning the faith.” So we decided to go to church one day. When I approached the priest and I asked the question, he said, “It’s the mystery of our faith.”

As I started questioning and doubting my faith—my Catholic faith, I started looking towards my friends—my group of friends, they’re members of the Church Of Christ. And so I started asking them questions like, who God is, “Who is Christ?” And they kept telling me, “Oh, just come to an evangelical mission. Just come to an evangelical mission.”

And then my friends just walked with me inside the chapel, and the first thing I noticed was the choir. It was so beautiful, everything was organized. The solemnity was there. Something that I’ve never seen in a church.

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I Could Trust the Minister Before the Priest

Shannon: I couldn’t help but feel and see how solemn it was. And as I was listening to the lesson, I couldn’t help but notice how the minister was reading straight from the Bible. And it wasn’t just once, it was continuous. And the lesson, I can still remember it, it was about who our Lord Jesus Christ was. That was something that I needed to hear.

Everything was from the Bible. There wasn’t a personal opinion stated. The minister stuck to the topic and I understood it clearly—clear as day. Seeing how everything came from the Bible, it felt like I could trust the minister before the priest that I’ve known for so long.

After the evangelical mission I was greeted [by] so many people that I’ve never even met before—people who [are] members of the Church Of Christ. You felt that love that you didn’t feel in a mass, or even in a Catholic church.

So on my way home, I was thinking, “I really like this Church.” I left feeling happy after attending the evangelical mission. But as I was going home, my heart started to sink. I was like, nervous. I would be breaking my family apart. That’s what I really felt. And I didn’t want to risk my family because I want to serve God differently from them. So I left that place thinking, “It’s not the time.”

Starting my new life as a college student—even though I attended mass with my dad, I didn’t listen. I sat there thinking about the evangelical mission, or even the questions that were answered. And I just knew that, “Okay, this mass that I’m attending doesn’t even have the right words.” Or I just didn’t care for church.

Our family was going through a rough patch. I didn’t have anyone to turn to.

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No One to Turn to

Shannon: I knew at the end of the day no matter how busy I was, no matter how social I was. I was by myself. It was just me.

I was doing my due diligence to try and get another job so I can help pay for bills. I felt incapable. I felt like I wasn’t good enough for the job positions. I was getting denied, or I wasn’t getting the reactions that I felt like I was getting from employers, so it put me even in a deeper slum, in a deeper mess. And I was going to go home sad again, failing to find a job.

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A Detour

Shannon: It was during rush hour and I didn’t realize that there were only two exits to the freeway. I couldn’t help but notice—as I was waiting at the stoplight—a chapel. There was a poster, and it said, “Church Of Christ Worship Service Times.” But it wasn’t the chapel that I saw at the first evangelical mission. And I decided to just walk in.

And then I met a minister. I told the minister, “I have questions I want to ask” and he said, “Do you know about this Church, the Church Of Christ?” And I said, “I think it’s the same Church, the one that went to a while back.” So I wanted to ask more questions, maybe that would fill this sadness, this void, this…whatever I was feeling within me.

So we sat in the minister’s office. And it was quiet for a bit. And I just started crying. I couldn’t even ask the questions that I had in my mind. I just cried…in silence.

And I just said, “I feel empty. And I don’t know how to fix it.”

I felt like maybe attending a worship service, or trying to draw myself closer to God again would be the solve to fixing this void that I had that was so evident in my life, that I felt—that I felt like no one felt except me.

I felt like at that moment I could trust the minister. And then he said, “Why don’t you join us to devotional prayer?” And so we did. We went into the sanctuary and we had a prayer. And during that prayer I felt like it was there, that God was calling me. And I felt like I was denying it all along when it was right here the whole time. And after I said, “I’ll keep having my devotional prayers, and then, if I feel like this is the Church, I’ll come back for Bible studies.” And that’s exactly what happened.

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Finding Peace in the Chaos

Shannon: My first Bible studies—it was right after school every day. Because I was still scared to tell my parents that I didn’t want to be a Catholic anymore.

But there was one Bible study that really surprised me. It shocked me, actually, because the Bible study was about the history of the Church Of Christ, and how it was apostatized. And what the Catholic church did, or how the Catholic church came about.

And the verse was about how the sign of the cross was a representation of those who were deceived by false prophets, by false preachers.

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“If anyone…receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he… shall be tormented with fire and brimstone…”

[Revelation 14:9-10 New King James Version]

Shannon: And that freaked me out because that means I was deceived for about 18 years of my life.

A week before my baptism, my dad wonders, “Why aren’t you attending Catholic mass?” And I told him, “Because I want to be a member of the Church Of Christ.”

For once in my life I was finding peace in the chaos. And that was through serving God.

Being baptized, it was like everything was light, as if God took all that weight. Everything that I was feeling, the emotions, the sadness, the void, the sins that I’ve committed, all of that was just… like it was taken—removed, lifted off my shoulders, and I got out [of the baptismal pool] as if I was someone new.

Now that I’m on the other side where I have the true faith, I can share my faith. And I can tell them how I’ve been through it, how I came to know the true faith, how I came to know the Church Of Christ. And that’s something that I want to continue to do because it’s something that I know that people need that they didn’t know that they needed.

After my baptism, I’m happier, I’m at peace. My parents are actually really proud of everything that I’ve accomplished. I graduated college, I’m living a life without that void, without that emptiness. And I’m serving God the best way that I can. And it’s given me the best things that I could have ever imagined.

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Message to Young People

You might think that becoming a member of the Church Of Christ, becoming more religious you feel trapped, that following God’s commandments is too strict for you. But what you don’t realize is that when you’re following God’s commandments, when you’re listening to Him, you’re as free as ever. You’re free from that weighted sin that you feel every day. And you’re free from that void.

Everything that you’re doing in your life, you’re just filling that void that you feel. That void that you want to fill, you’re filling it with parties, you’re filling it with hobbies. And you know deep within yourself that that’s not going to be the thing that fills that void. And I invite you to join the Church Of Christ. And maybe you can feel, for yourself, that void being filled with God.

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A Love I Never Knew I Needed

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INC News World

Shannon: Welcome to INC News World. I’m Shannon Santamaria coming to you from the INC Media Studios in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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Shannon: I may be only 22 years old, and I still have a full life ahead of me, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to waste it from here on out. I’m going to use it to the best of my ability, and that’s serving God.

I’m thankful because despite everything that I’ve been through, God has manifested in my life in ways that I couldn’t have fathomed. After my baptism where I really needed God, and He was there, where I felt like I needed Him the most, and He was guiding me. And my membership, that’s something that I’m going to keep forever. Because since being baptized, I’ve been feeling this love that comes only from God. That love that I never knew I needed.

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Stories of Faith

Going Through Difficult Times Led Me to God

Tough times often reveal some of our biggest lessons. Tim was content with his life. Like many, he grew up in a loving family, had a happy life, and was right on track working to reach his personal goals. However, his spiritual life was lacking. Little did he know that a trial so difficult would bring him to pray to a God he never knew.

Watch more Stories of Faith

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Timmon Li: I was near my bed and I was on the side and I was kneeling and… I remember saying, “I know You’re up there… but I don’t know who You are…” And I really tried to pray that night, but of course I don’t know Him, and He doesn’t know me yet. Of course I didn’t even feel anything. So, later after that night, that’s when I realized that I wanted to find the true religion.

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Timmon: My name is Timmon Li and I was born and raised in San Francisco. My childhood, I was blessed to travel to places. My dad worked at [a] hotel so we were able to go to different places as a family. I really liked playing video games, and also toys, and played a lot of basketball.

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I DIDN’T GET THE POINT

Timmon: I didn’t really know too much about religion. We were semi-Buddhist, but we didn’t really practice it and we didn’t really go to the temples. But I guess you could say we only practice when we “had to” practice it. What we did was just, the Chinese traditional practices where we would go to the mountain and we would burn incense for our ancestors. But I didn’t really get what was the point of all of that. For Halloween and Christmas is pretty much they would say “just do what the other kids are doing.” They didn’t really explain anything. So for me, I never even really liked to dress up for Halloween. And for Christmas, I did like that I got the gifts because it was near my birthday. But other than that I really didn’t know what Christmas [was] all about.

And for burning the incense it’s pretty much, the story goes that the ancestors are living in their, you could say world, and then burning the incense would have them receive the money that you’re burning and they could use that in their underworld.

Timmon: Since I wasn’t really practicing Buddhism, but I did have friends who were “Catholics”, and “Christians”, and some Islam, but I didn’t really question them on why they do what they do. For me it was just kind of just hangout with my friends and I just wanna live my youth years and just play basketball. I played a lot of basketball. But for religion it didn’t really pop up to me until college years. I did believe that there is a God. There is like a higher being up there. But I was trying to search for it and I didn’t feel anything.

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I KNOW YOU’RE UP THERE

Timmon: We found out my mom had…sorry..she has kidney failure. So I remember going back home that night. And I was near my bed and I was on the side and I was kneeling and… I remember saying, “I know You’re up there… but I don’t know who You are…” And I really tried to pray that night, but of course I don’t know Him, and He doesn’t know me yet. So of course, I didn’t even feel anything. So later after that night, that’s when I realized that I wanted to find the true religion.

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OPENING UP MY MIND

Timmon: It wasn’t until, I believe, a year or two later where I was able to meet Danica Sanchez. Danica is strong in her beliefs. And she really is strong with her faith, as well. And then, that really allowed me to question why she’s really into that. I pretty much asked her what the Church Of Christ is about. And she told me that it’s a Christian Church, and then she told me the different activities that they did. So that kind of sparked another interest in me. I guess that’s one of the reasons that I decided to attend the worship service.

Afterwards I went to a few more. I signed up as a Bible student because I wanted to know more. And it wasn’t until we really dug into the Bible studies, that’s when it really opened up my eyes and my mind. And knowledge about the Bible itself. And also if you’re gonna serve God then of course you’re gonna have to listen to His words. And His words are in the Bible. So for me that kind of put one and one together.

I had a hard time, to be honest, getting through the lessons, mainly because I had to travel a lot. For transportation, I took CalTrain just to go to Mountain View, and I studied lessons with the minister. But it wasn’t really until afterwards where I was traveling that’s when I started thinking more about it, and I really thought to myself, “I really want to know more.” And that’s how that really sparked something in me.

One of the beliefs and lessons of eating blood. Because I used to eat, not quite often, but I do like eating blood. But knowing what the blood symbolizes, that’s when I kind of thought of, “Oh ok, that… I’m not supposed to eat blood.” And so from there I didn’t eat blood anymore. My family asked me, “Do you want some?” and I said, “No I’m good.”

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NOT GONNA PARTY ANYMORE

Timmon: The friends that I was hanging out with after college, we would drink and party every weekend. And breaking the news to them, only my close friends they really asked me why I’m doing this, why I’m not going out with them as often anymore, why I’m not partying, drinking. And I told them what I’ve been learning and that it’s not right because that’s not what we do as true Christians.

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HE’S ANSWERING ME

Timmon: For me it’s what was missing was, I guess there was that emptiness, something… that one piece you can say, from the puzzle, that I was missing. For me finding the Church Of Christ that’s…it’s my life now. For me remembering that prayer that I did before finally realized that He’s answering me and He’s the one that’s bringing me back. So I think that helped a lot.

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LIFE FOR GOD

Timmon: Living a life for God is more rewarding than living our own lives, what we want to do, because it has purpose. And that’s serving God. It’s not doing what you want, it’s not doing what others want, or really the pleasures of life. But it’s really understanding the doctrines, but also understanding what God wants us to do.

The world right now it’s changing, it’s kinda scary at times, but I believe that when you’re part of this Church, when you’re part of the true Church you do realize that there is hope. And for those who are saying that “as long as you believe in Christ” or “as long as you believe in God you don’t need to attend church” but obviously they haven’t been to one of our Bible studies. You should try and listen to the 28 Bible lessons, it’s free.

So you’re not wasting anything, we’re not asking you for money. The minister would gladly preach it to you. They will break it down for you.

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Finding True Peace with God

Despite growing up with a religious family and a strong belief in the power of the cross, his search for peace in countless religions left him with more questions than answers. Now Devon shares his journey and discovery on how he found true peace with God.

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Devon Smith: I was always searching. Different religions. And different points in time. Of course, I was disappointed after each one because there was something very off about each one, and I couldn’t find the real answers I was looking for. I was big on the cross, I even had a cross chain and I didn’t leave anywhere without it. Because I knew that was gonna get me through the hardest times. But it turns out the cross was indeed a sign of those who were to be condemned.

I’m Devon Smith. I was born in Virginia; I was raised in Colorado Springs. I was raised in a single parent home. Well not having a father growing up, that’s a really really tough time. I would be resentful. Violence was quickly happening all throughout the city. You know, this was early 90’s where a lot of racial tensions were happening, even in school.

I do remember a bully in school, he was an eighth grader and I was a sixth grader. And he used to terrorize everybody. He even came to my home outside banging on the door one time looking for me, for whatever reason. But later on I found [out] that he was shot, after the last time he picked on me because of gang-related activities. That’s when I realized; he was roughly my age — that could’ve been me.

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“Always Searching”

My teen years, they were a little bit rough, only reason because, I was always the new kid. My mom moved around a lot, and it was always hard making new friends. I was very close to my grandma. All I needed, love wise, came from my grandma.

Grandmamma taught me to hold on to God and she also taught me that God is going to be where He chooses to be which is inside a church. So I did know, to some degree, that church was important and I also [sought] to find one. That was something that my grandmother taught me at a very young age. As early as 4 years-old. And I’ve had that strong belief in the Bible since I was 12. I had my own copy of my Bible with my name inscripted on the bottom right at the book. I even had a cross chain and I didn’t leave anywhere without it. Because I knew that was gonna get me through the hardest times.

I was always searching. Different religions and different points in time. Of course, I was disappointed after each one because there was something very off about each one, and I couldn’t find the real answers I was looking for.

I graduated high school, which surprised me at the time. But my desire at that point was to join the military and try to make something of myself because we didn’t have money growing up, I didn’t have a plan but I knew I needed something better.

I was first introduced to the Church Of Christ by a friend named Rochell. She came out to visit one of her friends that I happened to stay next door to in the military. And she talked about church. And at first I said everybody talks about church but then they lose interest, nobody really takes church seriously. But it was something about how she kept speaking about and how she held onto the teachings.

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“The Cross Is Something Significant To Me”

There was a snowstorm and I was the only trusted out of my next door neighbors friends to drive Rochell to a worship service. She was like, “Please take me, I gotta go.” And when I drove her there, found the church and I went in. And I listened to the first worship service in Colorado Springs for a total of 53 minutes which is the shortest time I’ve ever spent in a worship service, so I was also surprised.

My apprehensions about the Church Of Christ was the worship service building. I didn’t see a cross on the building, you know, something I was expecting when I took Rochell to church. I’m used to a cross on the building, this is the church, it has to have one, the cross is something significant, it’s something I wore around my neck all the time. It was all growing concern. Why should I continue going if there’s nothing I recognize on there?

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“I Can’t Be Mad At The Message”

Of course, I was big on the cross, but it turns out the cross was indeed a sign of those who were to be condemned. And it hurt. It really hurt me and I wasn’t mad at the teaching itself. I was mad at myself because all my life I believed that the cross would carry me through the worst of times. And you know, I quickly learned the truth, and the truth does hurt. And I can’t be mad at the message if I already accepted the Bible. And I wanted to keep studying.

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“I’ve Never Looked Back, I Can Only God Forward”

When the truth finally clicked in my eyes, one of the main ones, was the history. The Church history and how it coincided with World History. I’m just imagining this in my head, how everything went down, back in 1914, right at the spark of WWI, like that really happened. I’m like, “Hold on! So you telling me the Church came back right at the spark of the prophecy in these last days?”

It said the heavens were quiet for about half an hour. The math on that problem was impeccable, I did it at home, with the whole formula. Once I got the formula I did my own Algebra. And just coming up with it, listening to this, following the teachings that were done for that lesson, that was amazing to me.

And it just broke it down in complete detail. And various other lessons did that You know, breaking down of how the worship service is conducted. To me that’s structure, absolutely I would have it no other way. No, we’re not running around in church praising hallelujah, and that was something I’ve seen often in my day, but what about the actual lesson we need to get?

I was hooked when the Bible was broken down. What is the Bible for? It only strengthened my belief in the Bible itself. From that moment I was locked in. I couldn’t believe that I’d been going without the truth for so long. And so glad that I found something to really hold on to, it was real. I’ve never looked back, I can only go forward. I really am thankful for that.

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“God Is My Reason”

The Church Of Christ offered me the truth. Everything was in the Bible and I knew that book was very significant anyway. I never doubted anything that came out of the Bible and that’s what the Church was about. What makes me happy, coming from my background, is that I am being guided, I am being used by the Almighty Father. He has turned somebody like me, a person I thought would have no chance in this world, into a member, an officer, one of His leaders even in the Church Of Christ.

God is my life. God is my savior. God is my reason. God is my focus. God is my love. God is the father I never really had.

And through His teachings, through His worship, through His words of truth, I learned everything. From just being a model person, for having a responsibility, for having love and compassion. You know, the Church Of Christ is the reason I have a family now. And I would know nothing about being a dad, a father of 2 myself, if I didn’t have the Church Of Christ.

I have God. And I have to let everybody know, family, friends, and the like, that He is real, He is the truth. He hasn’t forgotten anybody. To those who say we don’t need a Church. Do the research first. Hear the lessons, and understand why. Give the Church Of Christ a try because: #1, everything is coming from the Bible

every question you can ask will be answered from the Bible, 100%

And should really consider doing research and comparing before you make any judgment on that. But I mean, what have you got to lose?

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“Favorite Answered Prayer”

My favorite answered prayer is peace. Because even as members of the Church Of Christ, we’re not excused. We’re not spared from all of the drama, all of the dangers of this world. We go through it just as much, if not more. But knowing that God is with you at all times, knowing that He will always protect you, He will always be with you in the trials, He will always give you a way out. It’s peaceful. I can go into any situation knowing I have a chance, a 100% chance of making it out alive because He’s with me. It’s peace that He gives me every time I call on Him so I can face the world ahead.

What Really Matters

Life is hard. And a hard life made Isaiah long for a successful future. He wanted more, materially. A chance encounter leads to chasing what really matters.

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