I did not grow up in a Christian home and never attended church until I was about 10 years old. I went with my mom and sister. (Dad did not go to church or express faith in Christ until he was 78 years old!) I heard the gospel message in children’s church, and then prayed all alone in my bed that night to accept Christ (December 1971?). I was baptized that next spring/summer.

We stopped going to church shortly after that. We started going to church again when I was 13-14. It was then that I started attending church services regularly, reading my bible, attending Sunday School and youth meetings, and getting to know committed Christians. During the next few years, I realized that being a Christian was more than a single moment of repentance and prayer. It was about a total commitment to Christ and God’s ways. It was during these high school days that my desire to live for God and my commitment to him grew. Somewhere during those years, I fully committed my life to serving Christ. My life in Christ is what gives my life purpose.