The Gospel in Me (August 17, 2014)

Before every baptism we have the privilege to hear stories of how God has saved people in our church and community through the gospel. In order to encourage one another, we will be posting these “gospel stories” after each baptism!
Lauren Boyd (college student)
I believe different people come to and find God for different reasons. My reason may be common, but it is very significant to me. I was born into a wonderful Christian family that I thank God for everyday. My parents raised us with strong morals and values and brought us to church growing up. As a young child, church to me was singing and learning verses.
As I got older, I began to realize what the the things I was learning and saying truly meant. I realized that I was a sinner and knew that Jesus our Savior who died on the cross for our sins and all I had to do to be saved was to ask Jesus into my heart and to forgive me for my sins. This is when I accepted Christ.
As I continued to get older and grow as a Christian, sometimes it was hard with a busy schedule and hurried life to step back and remember how much God is a part of my everyday life. As I begin to transition into a new chapter of my life, with many big decisions being made that will affect my future, I am thankful to have a Lord and Savior to guide me in the right direction. Today I am following through with my acceptance of Christ with baptism and am very excited to continue growing with Him through all of life’s challenges.
Ashley Boyd (college student)
I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior a long time ago when I was in elementary school. I mainly came to know Christ through going to Sunday School, and after several talks with my family, I felt confident that Jesus died for me on the cross, was buried, and rose again 3 days later so that I could be saved. I asked Jesus into my heart because I wanted to be saved through Him. For awhile after that, I practiced as a Christian and always had a strong faith in God. However, I never followed through with believer’s baptism.
Before I knew it, I was off to college, where I did not go to church as often as I had in the past. I still believed in God as my Savior, but He was not always my first priority. Recently, some events in my life have brought me closer to the Lord than ever, and he has shown me that there is no better time than the present to rejoice in the beautiful gift He has given us of being saved.
For a few months now, I have felt God tugging at my heart to follow through with believer’s baptism. Since this turning point, I have wanted to share my acceptance of Christ with the public. Although I have been a Christian for some time now, I am more excited to share my love for God with the congregation and to be baptized before the church, and more importantly, my Lord and Savior.
Brendan Boyd (8th grade)
Between going to church, listening to the pastor, and talking to my parents, I knew who God was but didn’t have a relationships with him. During that time I didn’t give him control of my life.
About a year ago I found myself starting to look up Bible verses that I heard other people mention, and that led me to believe that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead for my sins. I found myself praying more often, and I asked God to be a part of my life and forgive me for my sins.
Now I want to learn what God’s Word says, and I find it easier to make good choices. Recently at camp, when asked to stand if you need Christ in your life, I took the next step in front of my friends and made a public decision. I’m now excited to take this step in baptism.
Jeremiah McRoberts (7th grade)
I went to Crossings Camp this summer. On the last day, when we were in our small group, our leader handed us a piece of paper and at the bottom it said, “I would like to become a Christian for the first time.” I checked the box because I knew I was a sinner and did bad things.Even though I prayed every night, I still felt bad about my sins, and I decided I wanted to follow God, to trust in Him and believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins so I wouldn’t have to be punished and go to hell. I asked God to forgive me. After I made that decision, I felt like I needed to help people more and be nicer to them. It makes me happy to know that I will get to see God one day in heaven.
Josiah McRoberts (9th grade)
This past Easter, my dad was explaining the gospel to our family and how to become a Christian. He said we needed to confess our sins to God, and ask Him forgiveness, and believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. At first, I thought I was a Christian already because I was in a family where my mom and dad were Christians. I realized I hadn’t done any of the things my dad told us about, and so I went outside and prayed to God, asked Him to forgive me and to be Lord of my life.
Tyler Holvey (7th grade)
Before I became a Christian, I just went to church and did not really understand what it meant to be a Christian. I thought you had to be this perfect person. Then I talked to my mom about getting baptized and what it meant to be a Christian.
This summer I went to a Christian camp with a friend. My group leader helped me really understand what it meant to be a Christian and to get baptized. A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus died on the cross to saves us from our sins. I also know that I will continue to sin, but God loves and forgives me because of what Christ did. After camp, I felt that I was a Christian, and I wanted to get baptized.