Before Maria came to Christ, she was desperate for love.  Without a father figure in her life, she was looking for love in all the wrong places.  At the age of 17, she found herself in a bad relationship.  At 18, she was pregnant and gave birth to her daughter.  The father of her baby left her shortly after.  He took everything with him and told Maria she’d never be anything without him.  Her world was shattered, and she was alone. 

Giving generously is a blessing! A few weeks ago, we shared that our church family was able to respond to a crisis at one of our local partners, World Relief Western New York, with a gift of $75,000.  These funds went to help 212 families with the basic needs of housing, clothing, food, transportation, and health care. Click here to read the whole story, including the testimony of one Christian Venezuelan family who received the help they were promised.

After spending years searching for purpose in the wrong places, Mike found himself ready to take his own life- but God intervened. Mike had been trying to fill the void he felt in his life with material things and overworking to the point where it was harming his marriage and family life.

Before Christ, Allyssa found herself going through the motions. She realized she was beginning to bottle up emotions she didn’t fully understand and found she wasn’t fitting in with the friends she had at the time. These feelings only lead her to self-doubt and confusion.

Meaghan grew up in a good home and was close to her mom.  But there were also drugs and alcohol in her house, and lots of deaths in the family.  She went to church mainly for funerals.  She went to a Catholic school and felt that Catholicism was forced on her, but she didn’t enjoy it.  When Meaghan attended orientation during college, she found the Naz Christian Fellowship Table.

Kenny grew up in a single-parent home with his mom and sister.  They attended a pentecostal church, but Kenny thought an encounter with God only happened at church.  As he grew up, he became a chameleon and was good at blending in with other people.  His search for others to accept him led to his internal struggles.

Rebecca felt alone and trapped in her choices before she came to Christ.  When she was a young teen, her mom got saved and married a very Godly man.  They both shared the Gospel with her, but she wasn’t ready to accept it for herself.  She told them both, “If your God is who you say he is, then he knows what I need to reach my heart.”

Before Grace came to Jesus, she stole things, lied, and was also mean to her sister and brother.  In Kids’ Ministry, she learned that you can ask God to be part of your heart right now.  She also attended Camp Better and heard Maddie tell the leaders to share their personal stories with the kids about how they came to Christ.  One leader had a similar story to Grace, saying, “You can’t live with God in your heart unless you actually have him in your heart.  You can’t fake it.”  That impacted her.