As a very young child, I loved Jesus. It has been my desire to follow him all my life. I made mistakes, but He was always ready to forgive me. When I was 18 God asked me to be willing to give up a very close friend because he was not a Christ-follower. That was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, but after much prayer and soul searching, I committed to follow Jesus completely and have never looked back. He has walked with me through trials and challenges and has always been the One I leaned on through illness and discouragement. It is my desire to be an example to my family so that they will also want to follow Jesus their whole lives.

— J

I lost the relationship I once had with the Lord. I have been through more deaths than I can count, and it took me to a dark path along with losing a very close relationship to my parents that is now rekindling. But I knew it was the evil trying to push through, and I knew I needed to get back into church and strengthen my faith in the Lord because I know that is who showed me the light through those hard times of grief and loneliness. I want to show my appreciation to my Lord and savior by getting baptized at the beautiful church that made me feel more connected to God then I ever have!

— K

I recently went on my first mission trip to the Dominican Republic. While there, we attended church services and witnessed baptisms. It doesn’t matter the language spoken or the geographic location, it’s a beautiful experience to worship and praise God with fellow believers. To know the Holy Spirit is the same for everyone and to feel His presence there! I encourage you to consider going on some kind of mission trip. You will be stretched, your faith will grow, and you will leave with your cup filled to overflowing.

— L

I showed up at Indiana Wesleyan as a freshman in 2020, only focused on baseball. Baseball, lust, selfishness, and comfort were the controllers of my life. I was super lukewarm and had a lot of different idols. I was a “Christian” when it was convenient. To summarize, my freshmen year was a HARD year of God pulling back the veil and undoing many strongholds and false illusions I thought were my foundation. My sophomore year was when things started to make sense and God began to fill me with His Word and I started to live it out! Two years later I’m still walking this walk, growing and learning. God’s Word has been the substance of my life since, and it’s never returned empty-handed or void; it’s filled me to overflowing.

— A

I’m a 53 year old Navy Veteran, who works in a factory for the last 28 years. I’ve been married to the love of my life for the last 32 years. I have two amazing successful children and three beautiful grandchildren. One might say that I have a perfect life, but until about six months ago, there was something missing. I couldn’t tell you what it was or put my finger on it exactly. I was just going through the motions in life with my head down. I was struggling with some personal issues and seeing a therapist to help me deal with these issues that were weighing me down. Until, one day my son came to me with a prayer and a bible. That day my life changed. My wife and I started attending services here at The River. After hearing pastor Matthew speak one Sunday morning, it felt like he was speaking directly to me. Something inside of me told me to go up to the stage and give myself to Jesus. And so I did. It awakened something in me that has filled me with so much joy and excitement for the Lord. I have likened it to being a sleep before and now I feel wide awake. I’ve started going to a life group with my wife and I read the bible and pray regularly, which I never did before. I’m so thankful for all that God is doing in my life. Every aspect of my life has changed. My relationship with my wife has never been better, my friendships have improved, I’m more present in the lives of my children and grandchildren, and I feel I’m just a better version of myself. I feel that I’m being called by God to be baptized so that I can publicly proclaim to all that I have accepted Jesus Christ as my lord and savior and will live my life loving him and doing what I can to honor him and the sacrifice he made for me. My relationship with God is new, kind of like and infant, but I feel it growing and strengthening every single day. I’m so excited to see where my journey in faith goes from here and I can’t wait for all the good things to come.

— M