Praise God; that was the phrase I would here every morning when my dad would drop me off for school. Although my family has gone through many hard times, they have grown to know Christ and wanted to share that with their kids. I grew up in the kind of household that if you said “shut up” then you were going to be spanked several times. I knew one thing on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights; you go to church. Church became a hobby to me, I didn’t hate going there but it was just what you did.
This affected me deeply. I still had the idea that there was no chance I would be done with life soon. His death really brought me into the realization that my time to see Jesus could be anytime and almost to the year anniversary of his death I was baptized. My best friend had come to visit us for Easter and she stayed up and talked with me until very late at night and stayed near me until that Sunday at church. It was very encouraging to me having most of my loved ones there and my dad baptized me that Easter Sunday.
I did not understand why he needed to take a break. After he left my church, two years later, I became the youth pastor at the church. When I first started to serve, I was indeed with excitement, energy, and love for my church and community. I went over and beyond the call to serve in my role as youth pastor. I did it because I loved God and more importantly, I loved the children and families.
In November of 2012, I accepted Christ. Before then, I had been baptized when I was eight, though I was never saved. For the next five years I constantly fought with my mom to go to church, I despised reading my Bible, and I never once prayed. I couldn’t stand the thought of submitting my life to something I couldn’t see, nor did I want to give up the way I was already living. It wasn’t till I was fourteen and had started high school that I found Jesus.
The Sacred Divine I believe the Divine sacred is something more powerful than anything on earth. Not necessarily in a physical sense but more in a spiritual. I feel that the youth of today, more than any other time in the world's history, needs to know something about what their parents and ancestors have found in religion. As we look at today's youth we see a decline in good Christian values or in a better sense the falling away from the good life Jesus has taught us. I remember when was a little boy my father always made me attend every funeral that happened to family or friends, even if I didn't know them.
As it was when I was born and still to this day, I was brought to Church every Sunday. As an infant and a child, I did not understand the true meaning of this. I thought it was just a day I was force to wear “uncomfortable” clothes and told to be quite (even though I rarely did). I was like most other children, as are some teenagers, I did not want to go to Church. I would run, play sick or try to do anything I could to not attend Church.
Railton would later become Booth's first lieutenant and a huge factor in the way the Salvation Army was run during the first years. --- William Booth believed that every person deserved to know Jesus regardless of their social class and that he should save everyone from Atheism. William Booth had always been a religious person, he started questioning religion at a young age. During his early youth he attended St Stephan’s Anglican Church, however in 1840 his teacher brought him to the Methodist church Broad Street Chapel. Booth instantly fell in love with the different form of worship, he loved that members of the congregation yelled throughout the ... ... middle of paper ... ...g. Booth, Bramwell.
Finding a place to go where everyone seemed to perfect gave me a new way to live life. Walking into a church is almost like wearing a mask for a few hours and then taking it off. Although the masks may just be a variation of your face some aren 't. When you go to church you wear your Sunday best, you put on a smile, and you get your loving attitude ready to go. I loved every second of it, although I wondered why anyone would hate the idea of the love and support a church can offer.
I had heard many inspiring stories about the annual mission trips so I decided to take the chance and try something new. My first adventure was in Cincinnati Ohio. On the first night, I was exposed to many different Christian denominations and personalities of people from different states. I became closer to God in those nights associating with individuals with stronger faith than me. I also became closer to God when going out into the community and helping children and people in not the best situations.
I was too nervous to accept, for I didn’t think I was Concert Choir material quite yet. Turns out I made a lot of friends in Chamber Singers (the choir I ended up in) and couldn’t of been happier with my decision to stay. I was put in Concert Choir again my Junior year but still didn’t think I was quite ready, so again I got out of it and stayed in Chamber. I became the leader of my Choir and was the best sight reader.