I grew up in a Christian family. My parents took my sister and I to church every Sunday. My father was a deacon and Trustee. I attended vacation bible school in the summer.  I thought that church must be important because when we stopped at the

store on the way home, the store owner would give my sister and me a free slushie if we had gone to church. I didn’t really understand the importance of a relationship with Jesus. As I got older I went to Sunday school every week, but it was as much to hang out with my friends as to learn. I did accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior during this time.  I do remember thinking that Christmas was a great thing, because our church had a program entitled ‘Joy of Sharing’ which told the story of Jesus’s birth through stations throughout the church in December. This was open to the public. For my Eagle Scout project I set up and ran the petting zoo (Manger scene) in the church’s gym.

After graduating high school, I stopped going to church. At that time church seemed to be for older people. I got a job that required working Sundays, so that made it even easier to skip church. I clearly was lost. Several years later a friend invited me to go to church. I went to church with them and realized that I needed to go to church, because my relationship with God was lacking. I began regularly attending the church I grew up in. When I began dating my future wife, I encouraged her to attend, which she did. We got married in the church and all our children were baptized in the church.  Before retiring from my first career, I applied for a new job, which I didn’t get. I was very disappointed. Later, I got a phone call from a coworker twenty years earlier. He offered me a job in a school. I thought ‘Why not’ so I took it. It has now become apparent that this was God’s plan. ‘Coincidentally’ my friend was also a part-time pastor.

Our church held a series of meetings to decide what direction the church should go moving forward. One of my concerns, and that of other members, was that we needed a stronger kid min. Covid hit and that never came to be. Several years later my wife and I didn’t feel we were getting much from our church. We started looking for a new church home. Watching LEFC on television one week, we decided to try it. WOW, what a difference. It became obvious early on that the pastor (Tony) had a very strong faith and was passionate about teaching the word of God. Our kids were upset that we had changed churches. Once they began attending kid min and Crossover they totally changed their minds. It has been such a blessing to attend LEFC. My faith has clearly deepened, and I am now totally at peace knowing I have surrendered my life to God, and he is in total control, HALLELUJAH! Looking back, God has always been in control, it just took me quite some time to realize.