In 1997 our team came to Heritage Baptist Church for the first time. We have had the privilege of returning many times and have watched the church grow numerically and in physical infrastructure. The staff has a low turnover and we have been privileged to get to know many of them and now count them as friends in the ministry.
This week was special. The Lord did a work in many hearts of the Christian school students. On Friday we had a prayer meeting with many of them and it was a blessing to hear the teens pray.
On Friday, a young man responded to the invitation and was counseled by one of the team captains. That night he gave a testimony. He started by saying, “I’m just going to come out and…uh…say it straight up, I hated God…um…for …sorry, it’s hard to think back on it…my mom was diagnosed with…uh…with breast-cancer about a year and a half ago. And I hated God for it.” He also related his hatred toward his step dad for leaving for another woman. His bitterness was so great he related, “Never before had I experienced such disappointment as when I made my mom cry for the first time….I looked her straight in the eyes and I said, ‘Mom, I hate you.’” He told about how he really did not listen all week, but on Friday, even though the message was not about his issues, the Lord worked in his heart. He responded and talked to Trystan, the Marine team captain. Trystan asked him, “Are you going to forgive your step dad?” In his testimony he rejoiced, “I can truly say now,… ‘Never before have I had such grace and such forgiveness in my heart.’” As a result of this testimony another young man with bitterness decided to deal with it as well.
The Seals captain was dealing with a couple of boys when one admitted he had been viewing ungodly things on his Kindle. The other boy confessed he had been viewing things on a friend’s phone. Ryan asked, “Whose phone?” The boy points to the other young man sitting there. Ryan was able to deal with them both on confessing this to their parents. Later he caught them in the hallway and found that they had talked to their parents. One of the boys gave this testimony.
“I’ve been dealing with viewing issues…uh…on television, on…on my Kindle. And I kept going back into sin, kept getting out of it, getting God to help me and then going back in, and coming back into it. I kept hiding it from my parents and I was so afraid. . . When I told my parents, they were proud of me and so disappointed in me, but they were proud that I told them. And I’m so glad! I’m so glad God gave me the courage to tell my parents. I got it right with Him and I’ve never felt so glad in my life! I’ve never felt so, so close to God.”
One young man did not respond until Friday. He ended up talking with the coach about things he had been doing behind his dad’s back. At that moment his dad walked into the coach’s office and the coach looked at him and said, “Is there anything you need to say to your dad?” “Yes,” was his quick reply!
A young man gave this testimony at the Friday night service. “So recently I’ve been…uh…um…not right with my parents and…um…especially my mom and just been really disrespectful and…uh…this week I just made a decision to open myself up to my parents and just respect them in all that they do.” He then went to his mom to get things right at that moment. He had not made a decision all week.
Here are few more testimonies given:
“God’s been really working in my heart and I’ve been making decisions basically, every single day. And every single time I thought, ‘This is impossible. I can’t get over this sin.’ And every single time I looked at my favorite verse, Luke 1:37, ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’”
“I just wanted to say that I’ve been dealing with a sin that I was keeping from my parents. And whenever I told my parents last night, I was filled with joy and it was the best feeling that I’ve had in a long time.”
“So over the summer my church fell apart and I’ve been so bitter to the people who caused it. But on Wednesday when he preached about bitterness, I just fell apart. I got rid of that bitterness and I am so free now! I feel happier and it’s just a burden lifted off my shoulders!”
There were some testimonies that came from those who had gotten saved. Here are some of them:
“Yesterday when Dr. Jim Van Gelderen was preaching in his sermon, I felt something pulling at my soul, at my heart. And my insides started to feel real tight, so I knew something was reaching out to me. So at that time I rose my hand, and I knew that God was calling out to me, that He wanted to help me and that I wanted His help. And I was saved yesterday.”
“And last night when the invitation was given, I took it, and I went back. And thanks to my best friend, now I’m saved!”
“Lately (Wednesday night) I got saved by Jesus Christ and to get rid of all my sins. And after I did I just felt so much better about my life. And I encourage all y’all to do the same.”
A young lady wanted to give testimony and came back to give one. Jackie, the Seals co-captain realized she probably was not saved. Since it was her first night, Jackie told her the testimony time was for teens who made decisions during that week, “Why don’t you go back and listen for a while,” she urged her. She came back to Ryan, the Seals team captain and Ryan asked her, “Do you know you’re going to heaven?” After replying, “No,” Ryan told her, “Jackie will talk to you.” She was sobbing as Jackie gave her the Gospel and she got saved!
One young lady was impacted by Trystan’s testimony. She had responded to a Gospel invitation as a kid. The teacher told her mom that she had made a decision, but she knew that she had not made a decision of salvation. Thursday it clicked that she needed to make a salvation decision for herself so she did!
Jessica recruited a young man at a basketball court. He came Wednesday and left before the preaching. He tried leaving during the message on Thursday. On Friday, he did stay through, heard the testimonies which were powerful, and raised his hand during the invitation. His team captain, Trystan, tapped him on the shoulder and urged him to respond. He did and told Trystan his story. He had lived in Utah. His dad had gone to a class reunion and met his high school sweetheart and left the family for her. This young man was left with his mom. They barely eked out an existence. They lived without utilities and were evicted from their house. This young man would steal for food and other things. Now he had come to live with his dad and dad’s girlfriend. As a result of being in Virginia he was invited to the War of Special Forces. That night he got saved. His step-brother came for the first time that Friday night. A couple of weeks before he came, he was in a major car wreck. The car flipped and he almost died. He got up to give a testimony about it. He said, he wanted to get closer to God. Trystan, his team captain, wisely said, “In a few minutes you’re going to hear something that God preserved your life to hear. I want you to really listen.” During the invitation Trystan tapped the young man on the shoulder who had been there all three nights and said to the step-brother as well, “Do you want to come, too?” After he responded and got saved, Trystan asked him, “Do you realize that God preserved your life so you’d come tonight and get saved?” “Yes, I do,” was his quick response. Both of these young men came to church the next Sunday.
It was a blessing to see countenance changes in the faces of those who got saved. Several came out of the counselling rooms beaming! It really was a great week and we are grateful for all the Lord did in hearts!
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