Kenny grew up in a single-parent home with his mom and sister.  They attended a pentecostal church, but Kenny thought an encounter with God only happened at church.  As he grew up, he became a chameleon and was good at blending in with other people.  His search for others to accept him led to his internal struggles.

Rebecca felt alone and trapped in her choices before she came to Christ.  When she was a young teen, her mom got saved and married a very Godly man.  They both shared the Gospel with her, but she wasn’t ready to accept it for herself.  She told them both, “If your God is who you say he is, then he knows what I need to reach my heart.”

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. 

Jen has experienced many ups and downs, but the biggest challenge was a few years ago. Looking back, Jen realizes that God prepared her to walk through that challenge and used it to grow her and her family’s faith.

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.