Real God through real friends

Growing up, I did not attend church regularly and when I did, it was at a small Methodist church in South Georgia, with my grandmother. That was where I embarked on a relationship with God and learned more about Him each week. The lessons laid the foundation to my beliefs and values in life.  The people there were warm and their concern for me was genuine.  It felt good being there, so good that churches after that were all compared to that small church.

I never found that church but I still yearned for it.  I visited numerous and I never had the sense of belonging I was looking for.  After a while, I got tired of searching and besides I was busy working in a very lucrative career and at the same time raising a family that included my two children, and I was no longer sure that I needed a church.  I realized that life became good without the church or even God, so why bother?  I was about to give up on my quest, until one Sunday, when I stumbled on New Beginnings United Methodist Church.

The moment I stepped through the doors of the church, the senior pastor met and welcomed me with a genuine and warm heart – something I never felt at any other churches I visited.  I began attending here regularly.

About that time, the circumstances in my life took a turn for the worse. I was laid off and I had no prospects.  My financial situation was very bleak and the job search continued for over 6 months and to no avail.

Despite that, I continued attending New Beginnings because the sermons encouraged me and it gave me the resolve to face my challenges.  I also got to know more people at the church, who became my friends.  Most importantly, with their help, my relationship with God was revived and a few months later, I was baptized and officially joined the church as a member

I wish my testimony would end well, if not better.  Instead it got worse.  My mother developed Breast Cancer and passed away suddenly. With no job, I was thankfully able to tend to her needs while she was sick but the financial burden was taking a toll on me.

What a blessing this “small church” has been in my life! With the gravity of the problems I have faced over the last year, I would have been severely beaten down and I don’t know if I would have gotten back up. Now, I have a better grasp on these problems because I have not had to bear them all alone. God through my friends continually lift me up and kept me from staying down for too long. Even though losing my mother has been hard to deal with emotionally, I have a better outlook on life every day because of the relationships I have formed within this church.

Without a doubt, God brought me to New Beginnings.  If it were not for my renewed and real relationship with my living God and His outpouring encouragement through my friends to press on and dig deeper, it would have been unbearable to go through these life challenges.  I found that “small church of South Georgia” but it embodied more and better than what I initially sought.

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Editor’s Update: 

Praise God!  After almost a year of job search, we are delighted to note that Bryan has found a job!  We will have Bryan’s update on his testimony soon.