I had the privilege of growing up in a loving family that made God and church a priority. I was in church every time the doors were opened, whether I wanted to be or not. When I was 6 years old, I was attending an evening church service with my grandmother. My father was at work and my mother was at home with my sick brother. The church was showing a movie depicting Jesus’s death on the cross. I remember thinking, “Why would someone go through all of that?” and it was like the voice of God spoke to my heart. He said, “It was for you.”
I sought out one of our deacons after the movie was over. I told him I wanted to make that Jesus that died that gruesome death my Lord. He asked my all the questions that are commonly asked and led me in prayer. At that moment, my life changed. I went from death to life, from hell to heaven, from sinner to saint.
Yet as time went on, I began to act less and less as a follower of Jesus should act. When I was 14, I had come to the point of questioning if I was actually saved at all. I was attending church camp when God spoke to me again. I went down at the close of the evening service and spoke with a counselor about my doubts. As we worked through them together, I realized that I was saved but I had allowed sin to dwell in my heart. I repented and rededicated my life to God.
About a year later, I felt like something was wrong. I could not put my finger on what it was though. I sought counsel from my pastor. As we began working through it, he helped me realize that God was calling me to be a vocational minister. I surrendered to the ministry and began to serve in various roles in the church.
I would later go on to serve in other churches, go on mission trips, lead ministries, and eventually become a pastor of a church. My greatest desire is to reach out in love to those around me, to tell them the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and to serve both the Body of Christ and my community in His name.
Joel McReynolds 