T
Tankman131
Guest
I've written elsewhere a short overview of my testimony but here is the long version. There will be a TL;DR without the details at the bottom.
I grew up in a household that basically went to church 15-20 times a year and never really paid attention to the word. When i was around 6-7, for some reason i told my parents i wanted to go to church more often even though i was not involved with children's ministry. My parents must have had it on their hearts as well because we began to go more often.
Over the next few years we went to church every Sunday as a chore that must be endured before the brunch feast afterwards could be enjoyed. I tried youth groups, but learning that the youth pastor is cheating on his wife, and being in a tent next to the all night gay sex tent on a camp retreat doesn't make youth groups seem fun or worth it.
Eventually my father's childhood pastor passed away and we found a church that wasn't an hour and a half drive away. We went from a 30-50 person congregation to a 1000-2000 person growing mega church. This church, although the bible teaching could be described as "baby food" teachings was just what God needed to grow a new fervor in my Dad.
I continued to half-listen to the sermons, but my Dad dove into the Bible and i liked the change i saw in him. Eventually i thought getting baptized might bring about the same change for me (the church we went to preached very heavily on the necessity of baptism).
I got baptized at age 14-15 not really knowing what God had done for me, i could repeat what the baptism meant and and why, but i didn't really understand, i didn't take it to heart. I tried getting more involved in the church but between the memories of past youth groups and the makeup of my age group (or should i say make out since everyone seemed to be there making out with their gf/bf during the music).
I stopped caring as much for church when the novelty of my Dad's change faded and college started to become a real concern. I wanted to go to an engineering or chemistry focused school. Yet between my parents pushing (while saying i dont want to push you) and my visits to the campuses (noone smiled at the secular colleges) i ended up at a Bible college with a science program.
It was here that my interest in the word actually awoke. Sitting in bible classes and listening to theology discussions that always happened on the dorm couches got me more and more interested. I actually started to read the Bible, started to think about the gospel, started listening to sermons. God used my ego and my need to be the most obvious smartest-guy-in-the-room to get me interested in him (i eventually learned humility the hard way).
It was one night after midterms, discussing theology (by discussing i mean me faking it while i learn from a junior classmen), i went to my room and actually prayed to God. By that time i was well versed in the apologetics (for a freshman) and yet a had never really talked to God. I would say it was that night in my dorm that i gave my life to Christ.
TL;DR
Grew up in church, baptized at 14, not actually saved until freshman year of bible college.
I grew up in a household that basically went to church 15-20 times a year and never really paid attention to the word. When i was around 6-7, for some reason i told my parents i wanted to go to church more often even though i was not involved with children's ministry. My parents must have had it on their hearts as well because we began to go more often.
Over the next few years we went to church every Sunday as a chore that must be endured before the brunch feast afterwards could be enjoyed. I tried youth groups, but learning that the youth pastor is cheating on his wife, and being in a tent next to the all night gay sex tent on a camp retreat doesn't make youth groups seem fun or worth it.
Eventually my father's childhood pastor passed away and we found a church that wasn't an hour and a half drive away. We went from a 30-50 person congregation to a 1000-2000 person growing mega church. This church, although the bible teaching could be described as "baby food" teachings was just what God needed to grow a new fervor in my Dad.
I continued to half-listen to the sermons, but my Dad dove into the Bible and i liked the change i saw in him. Eventually i thought getting baptized might bring about the same change for me (the church we went to preached very heavily on the necessity of baptism).
I got baptized at age 14-15 not really knowing what God had done for me, i could repeat what the baptism meant and and why, but i didn't really understand, i didn't take it to heart. I tried getting more involved in the church but between the memories of past youth groups and the makeup of my age group (or should i say make out since everyone seemed to be there making out with their gf/bf during the music).
I stopped caring as much for church when the novelty of my Dad's change faded and college started to become a real concern. I wanted to go to an engineering or chemistry focused school. Yet between my parents pushing (while saying i dont want to push you) and my visits to the campuses (noone smiled at the secular colleges) i ended up at a Bible college with a science program.
It was here that my interest in the word actually awoke. Sitting in bible classes and listening to theology discussions that always happened on the dorm couches got me more and more interested. I actually started to read the Bible, started to think about the gospel, started listening to sermons. God used my ego and my need to be the most obvious smartest-guy-in-the-room to get me interested in him (i eventually learned humility the hard way).
It was one night after midterms, discussing theology (by discussing i mean me faking it while i learn from a junior classmen), i went to my room and actually prayed to God. By that time i was well versed in the apologetics (for a freshman) and yet a had never really talked to God. I would say it was that night in my dorm that i gave my life to Christ.
TL;DR
Grew up in church, baptized at 14, not actually saved until freshman year of bible college.
