What Kept Me Coming Back to Iglesia Ni Cristo
Shonda Ursua (Boise, Idaho): I wanted to focus on God and serving Him.
Voiceover: Stepping into a church for the first time takes a mix of curiosity and courage. Questions come up, like “What do they believe in?” “Will I fit in? Do I want to?” It’s taking a huge step into the unknown. But what happens next? These individuals took that first step. What they found inside the Church Of Christ, kept them coming back.
Orlando Manuel (Calgary, Alberta, Canada): During that time I see something different [about] the brotherhood of this Church. [You] can feel the warmth, when they welcome you, when they talk to you.
Fanny Mendenhall (Temple Hills, Maryland): It was so inviting. And that was the one part that I really like because it didn’t matter where you came from. And the doors were open to us and that’s what I liked.
Odelia Carr (Calgary, Alberta, Canada): So I ended up going to multiple worship services in I would say, like three to four different local [congregations], because I was really curious if things were different in each local [congregation] and what were different. But the one thing I noticed was the lessons being taught in each local [congregation] were the same.
Greg Garner (Boise, Idaho): You can go from one chapel to the next chapel, and you can get the same lesson. You’re not going to get a different belief or you’re not going to have a different way of the worship service being done. I said that shows that God is with the Church Of Christ.
Melvin Paramore (Washington, D.C.): And what really helped me out about the Church Of Christ being the true church is that I’m a history guy. And, I love history. And the prophecies about the Catholic Church, or the church that will fall away, it made it crystal clear that I was on to something.
Rashad Christmas (Bergen, New Jersey): And I said, you know what? I’m going to do these 28 lessons. And I know the Bible, I was a minister before, I know these different things, but I know what I created on my own, but let me just purely listen to the word. And let me put my emotion to the side and ignore myself and see how this will seep in and see the result. And it’s been great.
Shonda Ursua (Boise, Idaho): You walk into the sanctuary, or the worship service room, you’re focused on God, your job is to sit there and to say your prayers and to talk to God and to focus on Him, which is the whole purpose of church. And really, the whole purpose of our lives.
Ahmad Waleed (Winslow, New Jersey): The things that stood out for me the most, how orderly it was when I walked into the sanctuary, the brethren were so engaged in the lesson, they were very in tune with what the minister was saying.
Voiceover: Life is about stepping into the opportunities God gives—even when they feel intimidating. But renewing your relationship with Him is a step in the right direction.
Ahmad Waleed (Winslow, New Jersey): My thoughts were that I would like to come to, you know, worship more, you know, to be able to not let that feeling die.
Rashad Christmas (Bergen, New Jersey): The use of doing all this and seeing where your life has these highs and lows, and when you get the low, you’re not strong enough to get back up again. And I couldn’t be at that low and not pull on God.
Odelia Carr (Calgary, Alberta, Canada): It grounds me in a way. Being able to know that on certain days of the week, I will go to [worship service]. And I find that it helps to keep me focused on what I want in life.
Fanny Mendenhall (Temple Hills, Maryland): And that’s what I enjoyed about coming to the worship service, because you’re always welcomed, no matter what.
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SET UP A TIME TO SPEAK WITH A MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL
Voiceover: Taking that first step toward God can lead to a lifelong journey you’ll want to keep walking. Want to take that next step? Set up a time to meet with a minister of the gospel in the Church Of Christ. We have so much to share with you.
