Trophies of God’s Grace

In Acts we are studying the amazing and exponential growth of the early church as thousands of people were radically transformed by believing in Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin and death and the giver of eternal life.

We have witnessed the untiring and unstoppable messengers of the gospel who endured trials and suffering but were nonetheless joyful and resilient.

This powerful message of salvation is as relevant and life-changing today as it was in the first century.  Lincoln Berean Church exists to carry out this same mission delivered to that small band of Christ-followers 2000 years ago just before Jesus ascended into heaven.

Several times each year, LBC provides people the opportunity to publicly declare their faith in Jesus through believer’s baptism.  We as a church gather to see and hear of the power of God’s love poured out on individuals through Jesus Christ.  On Sunday evening, September 17, 52 individuals publicly declared their faith in Christ through water baptism. It was an evening of celebration as hundreds gathered to hear the faith story of each person being baptized and to celebrate our amazing Savior, Jesus Christ, who offers freedom from sin and everlasting life with Him.  We’d like to share with you just a few of the testimonies.
 
Kristen Baptiste
February 13, 2006 was the turning point in my life.  That was the day that I joined Christ’s family.  Before this time my life as a non-believer seemed to be going great:  nice apartment, nice job, nice man.  However, my perfect world began crumbling before my own eyes.  The relationship with the man of my dreams was gone and I did not have anyone to turn to.  Searching for comfort during this stage I made many wrong decisions.  One weekend shortly after my loss, I decided to make a trip back home to see my family.  On the way I was scanning through the radio stations and stopped on K-LOVE.  It was at that point when I decided to call the hope line.  After an hour-long conversation with a Christian woman, I realized that I needed to accept Jesus into my heart.  The following day, I went to church and gave my heart to God. Kyle Helmink was one of the most influential persons in helping me with my walk with Christ.  He helped me feel like I was accepted into the family of believers and they truly cared for me.  He reassured me that my past sins and mistakes do not shape who I am!

Kerry Milius
I came to know Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at Maranatha Camp when I was 13.  I went to camp on my own, so when I came home from Maranatha, I think everyone thought I was a little crazy.  I had no one to share my enthusiasm with.  I don’t think there was one person that stands out in my mind as most influential….it was more like a huge army of people at LBC, from the teachings on Sunday mornings to my life group to Titus Women.  I desire to be baptized because my heart is on fire for the Lord and I want to publicly declare my desire to follow Him.

Dylan DeBoer
When I was younger, around 5 years old, I was fearful of what would happen to me if I died without Jesus.  My mom and I were in the van on our way to Awana and I asked her to pray with me.  We prayed together in the van in the church parking lot and Jesus became my Savior. I want to be baptized because I want to show everyone my faith and commitment to God.

Alex Dahlstrom
I had never really understood how Jesus’ death on the cross was supposed to save me.  I had gone through life hoping I was good enough to get into heaven.  But in the summer of 2005, at Maranatha Camp, a camp leader named Morgan explained to me what it meant and I accepted Jesus as my Savior.  My former youth leader, Nate Armstrong, as well as Morgan Huenink and my parents, were instrumental in my coming to know Christ.

Gary Oldham
Many people had an influence in my coming to know Christ….Rick Schwarz, Pastor Clark’s messages and Don Bowman’s teaching.  I want to be baptized to be publicly identified to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.

In coming issues we will share more of these testimonies. When you read them, ask yourself the following questions:  Is sharing my faith with friends, family, neighbors and co-workers worth the effort?  Is the mission of LBC worth the investment of my time, talent and treasure?   What is God calling me to do right now to carry out the mission given to the “Unstoppable Church”?