How did you come to faith in Jesus Christ? Please submit your testimony here. Thanks and God Bless You!

I'll kick things off on this page: I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior in the year 2000. I was prompted to accept Christ after beginning to read the Left Behind book series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Accepting Christ was the most natural thing I have ever done. I had believed in God ever since early childhood and had THOUGHT that I was a Christian, but had never put it all together--that Jesus is the only Way, He is the Truth and the Life--until I was awakened early into the first Left Behind book. I am a sinner--we are all sinners--and Christ died on the cross and paid that sin debt in full. Three days later, Christ was raised from the dead by God the Father and lives in heaven at God's right hand as part of the Holy Trinity--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in all of us who have accepted Christ's gift of merciful salvation.--Jim Yackel, Manlius, NY

I accepted Jesus in November 1991. I had just retired from playing Semi-pro football and I played as an angry man. I went on a men's retreat in Oklahoma that someone paid for me to go to. That night as we were eating dinner, this big fat dude tapped me on the shoulder and asked me for the tea pitcher. I swung around and glared at who had had the nerve to tap me and ask for something. The next day I learned that this person was the keynote speaker. Before he even began teaching, he had people break off into prayer groups and just began praying. He himself buried his face into his hands and began to boo-hoo crying. All of the sudden I knew I was to go speak with him. So I went forward and said, "I'm supposed to talk with you". He said, "I know. All of this time I have been crying over you. You see when I tapped you last night, I felt the most angry spirit eminate from you." His name was John Karl Davis and he lead me to the Lord on 11/14/91 at 12:31 pm right before a lunch of chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes and green beans (I remember details) and I broke in two...I now minister to men in every area of their lives and teach adult Sunday School class....--James Britton, Texas

I grew up catholic on Long Island understanding the misselette more than the bible. My parents were church goers, so then, was I. In college I met some God people who nagged me with their stories of Jesus. God set me up with one reoccurring lunch date with a christian gal. She drove me nuts talking about God every Sunday. I play the flute, so God used music to draw me to Himself. I was invited to a christian group where God sneaked the thought in to play along with their music. It happened to be a beach fire on the Lake Shore of Lake Ontario...nice. Two christian guys came up to me and ask me about becoming born again. By that time I had heard the term a number of times from these "witnessers". God sprang up inside me with the word, "Yes!" I was surprized then, but not in hindsight. There were alot of people praying for me, especially a cousin of mine. Life started anew. New friends, a new church, a new way of thinking, praying, talking and on and on. God kept me close to Him by bringing two men into my life for discipling me--that was in 1980. Now in 2007 I'm a Director of Spiritual Life at the Rescue Mission in downtown Syracuse, NY. Who would have thought? Music is still a great part of my life and God's continual love. Life would have bent very differently without Him. Thank You Jesus! --Jim Livi, New York

I got challenged by a guy who said "you sound like you are afraid to let Jesus into your life. Why don't you open up and give him a chance to come into your life? It doesn't cost anything and you can always stay like you are if nothing happens." I decided to accept the challenge. I lie down on a bed quietly and emtied my mind. I asked Jesus to give me a sign. About 5 minutes later I heard a ringing in my ears, and felt a tingling in my body. I was overcome by emotion and Jesus has been in my life ever since. I have to say my life has been more productive, and I have been a better family man since then. That was in May of 1982.--Randy Grimes, California

I was down at Fairmount Fair in 1972 and Campus Crusade For Christ came up to me and asked if they could read me the four spiritual laws? I said "yes." They asked are you the center of your life or is your ego? I said "I am in between." They asked if I wanted to accept the Lord. Having been raised a Roman Catholic and going part of my school years to Catholic school did I need to do this? Well, I said the Sinners Prayer and I knew that something just happened that was going to be with me the rest of my life. That began my journey and eventually I got into a bible believing church. --Jean Rudy, Syracuse NY

I came to Christ when I was about 11. Had been brought up in a Christian family. Left home to join the Royal Air Force at 19. Had a medical discharge 5 years later. I had a cannabis addiction problem and had cannabis psychosis. Rediscovered my faith through this episode in my life. Now I work as a Learning support assistant, encouraging others to do their best and get back to work. I never lost the faith, I just meandered a bit. Keep the faith. www.iacmusic.com/modernpsalms Christian radio & music non-stop, featuring Jim Yackel. God Bless--Lee Freeman, U.K.

There has to be more to life than partying! There has to be some kind of meaning, I shared with my college buddies. Thus began a quest for meaning that led to giving my life to Jesus Christ. I'd searched for years for some sense of ultimate purpose through Western and Eastern Philosophy and various religions but came up empty every time. It was in my last semester of my senior year at St. Lawrence University, while applying to Philosophy grad schools, that I started paying attention to what some of my "weird" but caring and consistent Christian friends had to say. Could it be that an American tradition, an obsolete faith, a debunked set of myths and legends could be true? I still remember the rush of love that filled my heart as I surrendered to God's rightful ownership of my life. Today, life is richer and more filled with a sense of purpose than ever before. And I am so humbled to serve as a pastor. Serving on various church staffs for the past twenty years and writing and speaking in parent and teacher training events has given my wife and I a passion to build a church that offers a worshipful and relaxed atmosphere, and that inspires deep friendships and family enrichment.--Wes Fleming, Manlius NY

I have always had the feeling that I was being looked after. I didn't realize why I had that feeling, until I met with the one person who changed my life, that was Pastor Bob. I came to know that the feelings I have had throughout my entire life, the feelings of courage, and strength, and yes my belief--that I can do what needs to be done--comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't remember the exact time or date, but, it was more than 9 years ago.--Mary Alice Van Vlack, Elbridge NY

I grew up in a non-Christian home that only attended church for major things like weddings and funerals. I didn't know Christ as I finished school, attended junior college, got married and had children. My wife began to attend church with our two young daughters while I thought I had better things to do on Sundays. The only times that I attended church was for the Christmas play and the annual children's program. Because of this much of the congregation thought that my wife Theresa was a single mother. A career change is what brought me to Christ. My grandfather was an auto mechanic; my father was an auto mechanic, so naturally I became an auto mechanic. After 10 years of wrenching on cars, I decided to become a teacher. After five long years of working overtime, raising a family all while attending night school, I received my teaching degree. I was hungry to enter the field of teaching. However the job market was pretty slim at that time. The church that my family attended needed a 5/6 grade Sunday school teacher, so my wife suggested that I should teach Sunday school because: It would look good on my resume. Any good teacher uses a good lesson plan and mine became the Bible. I thoroughly studied the Sunday school lessons along with the supporting scriptures, thus my spiritual journey began. 16 years later I began attending EHBC; I joined a small group, a men's group and eventually asked Jesus Christ to be my personal savior. I would like to close with this final thought: If anyone in this congregation is thinking "I'm not sure about this life of Christianity" If you decide to give your life to Christ, then hang on for the wildest ride of your life!--Joe Kidd, Manlius NY