Testimony

My Story:

Conversion—When I was eight years old, I attended a Christian Service Brigade youth camp named “Camp Kaskitowa.” It was during one of the evening campfire services that God tugged at my heart concerning my need for Jesus as my Savior. After the campfire service I responded to the speaker’s invitation and went forward to talk to “Cap Green,” (the speaker of the evening). It was on that summer night, in August 1960, that I placed my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior.

  Assurance—After I trusted in Christ I returned to my cabin a changed person. The very next day I bought a postcard and wrote a brief message to my mother: “Monday I took guns and got 17 points. I’ll send a letter pretty soon. I got staved yesterday.” Even though I had misspelled the word “saved” (writing “staved"), I knew that Christ had saved me from my sins. Even though that postcard was written in pencil and very difficult to read today, I still have it—thanks to my godly mother who saved it for me (Click on the postcard pictures above). As I matured in Christ I found my assurance of salvation in God’s Word. I believe that I have been saved by God’s grace and by His grace I will be kept.

Baptism—Four years after my salvation experience, I enrolled in a baptism class at my home church. At the age of twelve I was baptized by immersion at the Berean Baptist Church of Detroit, Michigan.

Diversion—As a high school student I turned to a hypocritical life-style. I attended church on weekends but lived like the world during the week. I would find out what 1 Corinthians 15:33 meant when it says, "Bad company corrupts good character." One evening two friends of mine and I experimented with sniffing chemicals to get high. When none of us returned home my mother prayed all night. In the morning she received a phone call from the hospital where I was taken. They said, "If you want to see your son alive, you had better hurry--the other two boys are dead." When I regained consciousness I immediately surrendered my life to God. God used that crisis as the turning point in my life.

Call—My first year of college was spent at Wayne County Community College. As a seventeen-year-old I was attempting to share my faith with my peers. Through those early days of witness I discovered that I needed to be better grounded in the faith. So I enrolled at Detroit Bible College to gain a stronger foundation for my witness. It was during that year at Detroit Bible College that I yielded to God’s call to the ministry. God led me on to Baptist Bible College and then on to seminary in preparation to multiple successful church ministries.

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