My Testimony

Today I gave my testimony at church. It was a great experience. I would like to share it with everyone.

"I am the last person that should be on this stage. My family is not Christian, I had no Christian friends, I had no desire to ever become Christian, and at times I actively spoke against Christians for what I saw as ignorance and hypocrisy. I was an agnostic through and through. So even just eight months ago, if you would have told me I would be sharing my testimony with a church, I would have thought you were crazy and probably laughed in your face. It is by God’s grace alone that I am able to stand here in front of you.

This past summer I went back home to Central California only to hear that my best friend from high school, Kyle, had “found God”. This guy had not just been my best friend, but also my partner in crime when it came to trying to make our Christian peers feel stupid. So it came as quite a shock to hear this. Immediately I called him, convinced that somebody had gotten their facts wrong; but sure enough, he affirmed that he was seeking God. As much as I wouldn’t have admitted then, even to myself, a spark of excitement and hope was put in my heart—If Kyle could accept this, maybe it wasn’t so far fetched. But, being who I was, I set out to do some research that might disprove Christianity and remind my friend why we believed what we believed. It was here that my journey really started.

For me personally, one of my greatest issues to overcome was what I saw as intellectual barriers to Faith. I was convinced that my agnosticism was the only smart choice and that everybody else was just misinformed or irrational. With so many religions out there, why should Christianity be anything special? It was going to take some straight forward facts, and sound logic to even get me to the point where I could consider Christianity an option. So, when I went to spend the rest of the summer with my girlfriend Natalee in Oregon, I took hours upon hours reading apologetics and theology trying to pick out their factual inconsistencies and faulty logic. But after reading thousands of pages (including Case for Christ and Case for Faith by Lee Strobel) I was stumped. The gospels are historically accurate, their sources are reliable, and their message is specific. No amount of scrutinizing could argue with what was placed clearly in front of me –there is one true God and He is Jesus.

I had thought getting past that intellectual hurtle was impossible, yet there I was on the other side, faced with the truth about God. But the battle was not over and I ran face first into some serious problems: namely my sinful nature and the terrible habits that I had formed. I lived life in whatever way I saw best. I lied when it was convenient. I got drunk if I felt like it. I had a lustful heart towards women. I was often selfish, not willing to help others if it didn’t help me somehow. I judged people and talked badly about them. Most damaging, I was very proud and arrogant. Even as I changed my outward behavior, my great sin of pride caused me to have an attitude of “I’ll do this because you said so God, but I still think I know better than you”. I had a heart of stone and I needed Jesus to replace it with a heart of flesh. I begged God to forgive me of my sins and open my heart so that I could accept his love.

I started going to a church where people had a passion for Jesus and the Bible. I found that fellowship, prayer, worship, and hearing the Word gave me great joy. They preached the gospel, and one Sunday I stood up and answered the call to be baptized. That day I said, 'Jesus is my Lord' for the first time. I was saved. I died to my sin and became a new creation. I had turned away from God for twenty one years and yet He received me with open arms and perfect love.

A short time later I heard the story of Paul the Apostle who had ruthlessly persecuted Christians until Jesus himself confronted him to stop. Paul then became one of the greatest advocates for Christ: preaching the gospel and planting churches everywhere. I was inspired knowing that even with the evil Paul had committed, once he gave his life to Jesus he was able to do great good. And so I thought, maybe I can be more than just a wicked soul who was saved; maybe I can do good in the name of the Lord too. So here I am today. My life is nothing like I thought it would be. I have decided to go to seminary when I graduate and work towards becoming a pastor. I am engaged to a wonderful Christian woman name Natalee. I have purpose beyond myself.

For those of you who are seeking, or were dragged here against your will, and think ‘it will never happen to me’, or those who are believers and have friends or family members that you are discouraged about because they are set in their ways, I hope my testimony makes you think twice before giving up. Because like I said, I am the last person that should be up here, and God’s grace is not too small for anyone."


Jesus, you are so good. You forgive us of our sins and give us the gift of your mercy and redeeming grace. I pray that my life would always serve as a testimony to your power and love. Let my story open the hearts and minds of the people.