I grew up Catholic, going to church every Sunday, including going to Sunday School. But I didn’t understand what I was supposed to get out of being at church. I didn’t read the Bible and I didn’t have any relationship with Jesus. The Word wasn’t discussed in my home, nor was religion. As I got older, my church attendance turned into showing up just for the holy days of obligation, such as Easter and Christmas. In my adult years, I stopped attending church altogether and I chased earthly things. Despite that, I always had faith. I read books about Christ and I longed for a way to figure out this “Jesus thing.” But for most of my life I drifted, spiritually, with Jesus just out of reach.

Then I met a woman who simply shared her faith story with me. As she told me more about how deeply instrumental Jesus had been in her life, I wanted to learn more. One day she said, “I’d love it if you joined me for church.” So I went to church with her, here at Sojourn Midtown. From the first service I attended, I felt like God wanted me here and He wanted me to dive into a real relationship with Him and learn about His life-saving plan for me.

Now I’m married to that woman, who God put in my path, and I have a huge appetite to learn more about Jesus and to thank Him for what He did for me. One of the things I have come to realize is that my baptism as an infant had nothing to do with me deciding to have a relationship with Jesus. Today, I declare that I have chosen to walk with Jesus and I would never have stepped on this stage, but by the grace of God!

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