Gretchen’s Story
After my parent’s divorce eight years ago, I lived with my father. It wasn’t a good situation. His life seemed to revolve around money. There was so much tension, anger and criticism at home. I felt so trapped. I had been raised to follow Jesus, so I prayed and received encouragement from my Bible, but this was frequently taken away from me.
Eventually I moved in with my mom and two sisters. We heard about Compassion Christian Church and starting attending services – we just kept coming back because of the friendly atmosphere. We felt like we belonged here.
The church I attended growing up did not stress the importance of baptism. I had never felt the urge to get baptized until I saw people being baptized at Compassion Christian. They looked so happy and free. I felt a nudge that it was time for me to get baptized, so after praying for peace with a counselor, I went out to the lake.
And I did feel peaceful. And excited! I declared my faith in God and was submerged. It all happened in slow motion. When I came back up, weights I hadn’t realized were there had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt so much lighter, cleaner, happier and freer. I didn’t expect to, but I felt different, remade.
Now I have more motivation and a greater passion and drive to bring my friends to Christ. I feel more comfortable with the idea of sitting down with them and explaining who He is. I want to serve in the church as well, in the high school ministry, Element, and get involved in a Small Group. I can’t wait to start!
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