Wow! Another great week at West Gate Baptist Church in Tampa, FL. The team has been coming here now for several years, and we were so encouraged with another week where the Lord moved.

There were a number of teens from the Christian school who got saved this week. One of the young ladies in the Christian school raised her hand on Tuesday about getting saved. She responded to the invitation, but laughed off making a decision saying that she had time. During Wednesday chapel, the message was on bitterness, and she talked to someone next to her during the whole service. Again she responded to the invitation, but went to the counseling room with almost a smirk on her face. She admitted that she had bitterness toward her dad. When the counselor asked about salvation (knowing that she wasn’t saved) and started going through the gospel, her attitude changed. She started getting serious as they talked about Jesus dying for her, and she eventually started crying. She wanted to make the decision and accepted Christ’s payment for her sins right then. After receiving counseling about her dad and family, she had a new smile on her face, saying, “I just want to run home to my family and tell them I got saved!”

We were touched on Friday night when a young lady told of being lovingly confronted by another student about her need of salvation. There were tears as she related the concern of another for her soul:

 “…I fell into eight years of depression….and nobody knew. I never got saved. When I came to this church, I told everyone that I was saved because I felt like I had to be perfect for everybody else. I got saved this week because one of my best friends came up to me and had to talk to me because God laid a burden on her heart…It was Wednesday. I felt so relieved. I slept; I’ve been able to sleep. I’ve never been able to sleep, ever; I’ve cried myself to sleep ever since I was six years old…what God did in my heart this week really helped me…”

Then a few minutes later, the young lady who confronted her stepped to the microphone and wept her way through a 4 to 5 minute testimony telling of her burden for her friend and overcoming her hesitation to talk to her about the Gospel. It was powerful!

“I remember I would go to her house…and she would tell me about all these things she had been doing. And I’d pretend I was just like her and I would be like ‘No, she might get offended if I tell her that I don’t think she should do these things.’ But this week, I listened to God…because if you know someone that cares, that you care for so much and know…that they know where they’re going and you’ll never see them again. Thursday morning in chapel…she went back into a room with me. Someone else helped me get her to a room, and I told her…that I was worried about her…and I’m telling you right now, if you’ve just gotten saved, and…you go to a public school, and you’re scared of what your friend might think about you, it’s so much worth it…because Tuesday night, the night that I knew that God wanted me to do that….she had already left. I was so scared…’what if she gets in a car accident; I would feel so horrible…if I was too late.’ Thankfully, I wasn’t, but it might be too late if you wait for your friend. Please don’t wait!”

We had a great testimony service this week. Below are some others that are a blessing:  

“…and after that I went in another room with Miss Jessica, my co-captain….and I just said, ‘Satan sometimes tells me that I’m not saved, and I don’t feel saved sometimes and sometimes I do.’ And she said, ‘Well Satan’s going to tell you that all the time because he’s not a good person. He’s going to lie to you; he’s going to tell you false things.’ And…I got reassurance of my salvation…”

“I was listening to Brother Van Gelderen’s preaching on Thursday in chapel at our school, and I was thinking about some hidden sin that I had. And God was telling me to get it right with my parents ‘cause I’ve already gotten it right with Him, and He was telling me to get it right with my parents. So I did that on Thursday night and it…it felt great.”

“…last year in January, I surrendered to preach. And something like this with a bunch of teens, God just convicted my heart that I was running away from Him and I need to turn back to Him. And…I just wanted to say that if you had seen me two years ago that…that the music that I listened to, the people I hung around, the things that I did, that you would never think that I would be here today. But’s God’s grace and mercy…saved me from the world and I want to tell you that this week, God put it on my heart that in school I need to stand up for what’s right, and I need to not hang around with people that I hang around with…[if] He can change me, He can change all of you!”