Before Grace came to Jesus, she stole things, lied, and was also mean to her sister and brother.  In Kids’ Ministry, she learned that you can ask God to be part of your heart right now.  She also attended Camp Better and heard Maddie tell the leaders to share their personal stories with the kids about how they came to Christ.  One leader had a similar story to Grace, saying, “You can’t live with God in your heart unless you actually have him in your heart.  You can’t fake it.”  That impacted her. 

Dan’s life felt hopeless, tragic, and difficult before he came to Christ.  His first year of college was especially challenging as he moved away from family and was introduced to alcohol.  Over the next several years, he became reliant on alcohol.  This impacted his grade point average and resulted in him getting a “notice of academic dismissal.”  At this same time, he went through a relational breakup, and moved back home.  

Before Matt came to Christ, his family went to church regularly.  As the only deaf person in the family,  he didn’t get much out of church because that church didn’t provide interpreting.  There was no spiritual connection accessible to him, so he checked church off the list.

Maggie’s life was a struggle before she came to Christ.  She grew up in a Catholic church and didn’t study the Bible at home.  She can remember herself at the age of 7, attending church with her mom. They were at the various “stations of the cross” when it hit her that Jesus died for her sins. 

Luke’s life was pretty normal before he came to Christ. His parents took him to church regularly, and he identified as a Christian. He always prayed, knew classic Bible stories, and celebrated the holidays. But something was missing. He didn’t know what it was until the day he accepted Christ on July 21, 2024.

Before Christ, Ryan constantly battled between right and wrong.  He grew up going to church with his family but was along for the ride. In college, faith took a backseat to academics and athletics.  That is where he found his community.

Ezela always went to church as a child because it was the right thing to do, but she didn’t have a relationship with Jesus.  She knew she was sinning.  She consumed, partied, and didn’t respect herself.  All of her decisions culminated when she got engaged in her 20s to someone who became her abuser.  She ultimately lost all of her self-worth.  It was after she left that relationship that she met her husband, Peter.

Peter was raised in the Roman Catholic faith and went through all of the sacraments.  When he grew older, he realized something was missing.  He drifted away from church and felt the void in his life.  His marriage and family relationships were in a dark place.  He couldn’t get away from the feelings of doubt, resentment, and anger.

Mak had always believed in God, prayed to him, and understood who Jesus was. But she’d always had faith questions that she never put the effort into getting answered.