Testimony

I was born and raised on the eastside of Seattle, Washington where I attended First Baptist Church of Bellevue until the age of 11. I was saved and baptized there, and the church played a very dear role in my life. Many men of the church took time to father me because my parents were separated when I was 4, and I didn’t see my dad much, and he’s never been a spiritual leadership figure in my life. My relationship with my father has always been very trying. He was in seminary when he fell out of ministry, so he knows the gospel, and has seen the very power of the Lord and realizes there is a creator god, bur denies his purposes. Until this day, he has hardened his heart against God, and continues in open rebellion, and I pray for God to open his eyes daily.

My family moved a couple of times before we finally got settled down in Ft. Collins, Colorado after my mom remarried. There, my relationship with my step-dad was hard at worst and nonexistent at best. So, I gravitated to my youth pastor, Ed Moran, for spiritual and emotional support. During the summer before my sophomore year of High school, the church confirmed rumors that Mr. Moran had sexual relations with a girl in the youth group. This tore me apart. Up until this time I had always figured that no one could hurt me like my dad had. I was wrong. I continued through High school, and I excelled in spiritual leadership positions as well as a desire to serve God. I served as the captain for our church bus routes to pick up kids for church, and I started to learn how to preach in our preacher-boy program at my Christian school. Then, while in Florida on my senior trip, we received word from back home that our head pastor, Dr. Ken Stephens, had committed suicide without any identifiable reason. I started to feel the pressure of serving God, and at this point I decided I would no longer set myself up to fail Him and others, so I resigned myself to chase a Civil Engineering degree at Colorado State University. Thankfully, God was at work in my heart. He directed me to Camp Gilead our in Carnation, Washington where I had spent many summer days as a child to serve as a counselor. It was in this gospel rich environment that he called me to his will. During my second summer of counseling, God made it miraculously clear that I was not serving him with my whole heart; I was only serving him where I was comfortable. I was always afraid of falling out of ministry, of carrying on a legacy of failure and reproach like those men ahead of me. That summer I yielded to him my fear and doubt in myself, and within two weeks it was painfully clear that I had been running from his will, and I was called to serve him in full-time ministry. The verse I have held on to trough this proving of my faith is I Corinthians 10:13, “There is no temptation taken you except that which is common to man, BUT GOD IS FAITHFUL, and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation also make a way of escape that you may be able to endure it.” Upon this verse, God has forged my fear of failing into a faithful walk and a dependence on Him to keep me from falling, knowing that there are no new temptations to him.

Currently, I am a student at The Master's College, pursuing a degree in Bible Exposition to equip myself from the Word of God, by the best teaching possible in order to serve Him—not only passion and zeal, but also wisdom according to knowledge.