My name is Gary. I am a pastor of a church. But I didn't grow up in a pastor's home or even in a home where we attended church regularly. The one time we did attend as a family was when I was 9 years old.  It was during that time, in a little church in the country, that I heard for the first time that God loves me so much that He sent His son Jesus to die for my sin. I heard that if I would ask Him to forgive me for all the things I had done wrong, He would do so, and He would give me a gift called eternal life, and He would let me live with Him in heaven for eternity.  And so, one Sunday morning, after the preacher had spoken to us from the Bible he asked us if we would like to ask Jesus to come into our life to be our Savior.  I knew at that moment, though I didn't know a lot about God, that He must know a lot about me. I somehow knew that I could trust Him with my life. I can remember standing in that little church, my hands gripped onto the back of the pew in front of me, and looking up to heaven and saying to God, "I don't want to go to hell, would you save me."  I believe in that moment, Jesus not only forgave my sin, but also came and began to live in my heart.  I believe in that moment he gave me the gift of eternal life, and from that moment He has been trying to lead me into a better life.

A verse of scripture that means a lot to me is John 10:10. "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly."

My parents soon stopped going to that church and moved our family to another community.  Therefore, I didn't attend church again until I was a senior in high school and started going on my own.  It was actually in college, after being involved in a campus ministry, that I began to really understand that God didn't just want me to live with Him for eternity, He wanted me to live for Him right now.  So, in college, I began what has become a life-long journey of following Jesus.  I read His word daily and try to listen to what He is telling me.  Sometimes He speaks to me about a needed character change, at other times He soothes a fear or comforts a hurt.  When I read His word and talk to him through prayer He always meets me at my point of need. He always gives me direction for my life.  Jesus Christ makes a daily difference in my life.  Because of Him, I not only have a greater joy today, but I have the hope of an incredible future tomorrow.