Connections - Entries from May 2012

Eric: I came to Christ as a freshman in college, and some of my friends involved with Campus Outreach went there because the teaching was centered on truth. So I joined them and never wanted to leave.

Charles: During my freshman year (within the first couple weeks) a group of student leaders in our college ministry and I were looking for a home church while at Purdue. The student leading our group at the time, Drew Kirk, proposed that we attend KSBC. We attended and instantly fell in love with the body, the preaching, the worship, and the great fellowship. We've been joyfully attending ever since.

Q: Why did you decide to become a member at such a seemingly strange time, in the final semester of college?

Charles: After one of Pastor Whipple's sermons I felt convicted about not serving and loving the church the way that Christ Jesus did, does, and always will. I saw that I was taking advantage of the opportunity without giving back to the wonderful body of Christ. Week after week, I came into church and left filled with truth and excitement. However, I've seen that we are called to have a bigger role in the church than to basically be spiritual leeches. I observed the men, women, and children that I have grown to love and respect in the congregation, and I decided that I wanted to link up arms with them and help serve the church as well as stand beside them in every way during my last few weeks. Though I only had a few weeks left at Purdue, I realized the importance of taking this step to both serve now and practice what I hope to practice the rest of my life, namely being a healthy and active church member for God's glory.

Eric: Even though it was about time for me to graduate, I wanted to be a part of the church and give any encouragement I could and serve in any way that I could in response to what Christ has done for me. Charles and I wanted to see what it looked like to pursue membership in a solid church, hoping that it would set the foundation for the rest of our lives. I don't regret it for a second either because I learned so much and realized how much of the body I really missed out on.

Q: How have you been able to plug in and become a part of the community?

Eric: Paul Briggs got us started with a Bible study on baptism and then many other people helped us along the way as well. Once we were baptized and became members, Tim helped plug us in with the children's ministry. We just shadowed the real teachers, but we got to see what it looked like to serve the church in that way. We were also convicted to meet more people and not just stick to the group of people we know, and it was so cool and encouraging to meet so many believers at different stages in their walk.

Charles: I have had the opportunity to observe some of the children's worship classes. Both the helpers and the children have been a true blessing! I see the Lord's grace every time I observe a class. I also had the wonderful opportunity to share my testimony in one of the children's worship sessions. It was a great pleasure to meet the children where they were at and share truth with them.

Q: In what ways has KSBC ministered to you and encouraged you in the gospel?

Eric: The sermons every Sunday are greatly appreciated. I love the focus on the nations as well. The leadership and elders there tremendously helped me through the whole membership process and did nothing but display the love of Christ. The body there has done nothing but love me and point me to Jesus as well. I have been encouraged beyond what I ever thought possible in my one month of membership because of God working powerfully through KSBC.

Charles: I have seen the importance of consistent evangelism. I hear about it during Whipple's sermons, during the college Sunday school group, and even children's worship. It has been a wonderful reminder of the joy it is to share the beauty of Christ with others. I long to never forget the importance of being a laborer in the Lord's harvest!

Q: What's in store for you now that you've graduated, and how can we pray for you as you move on?

Charles: I will be working in Indy with a Non-profit organization called, "Dream ALIVE." I will be mentoring students in the inner-city, doing that full-time as the lead Site-Director at Harshman Middle School and/or Shortridge Magnet School in Indy. Please pray that I will continue to share the gospel daily, both this summer and this next year (and frankly, the rest of my life). Also, please pray that I will meet with God consistently and grow in patience and into the man that God desires me to be.

Eric: I am currently at a summer camp called Marannook in LaFayette, Alabama. I am learning to dig really deep into the word, and pretty soon there will be campers here and I will be one of the counselors. You can pray for my leading and loving of them and that Christ would work through me, that God would save the unbelieving campers and grow the believing campers. Also pray for my time in the word, that I would understand the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge and be consumed and controlled by the gospel. After the summer, I will be moving to Edwardsville, IL to find a job to pay the bills, and when I'm off work I will be going on the campus of SIU Edwardsville everyday (for the most part) to meet students and share the gospel with them. This is a campus that Campus Outreach is pioneering and we are trusting to see God start a movement there. Pray that God would provide me with a job that will help me pay off loans and also that would be flexible so I can maximize my time on campus. Pray that God would raise up laborers from nothing there, and that He would multiply my life. There will be 2 full time single staff members there, and a married staff couple leading the movement. I am very excited, and I am trusting God to open and close doors for my future, as well as for Him to show me what I'm passionate about and what His will for me is. Pray that would become clear to me and that I would step out on faith and trust Him. I am excited to see what God has in store!

The Membership Ministry Team would like to welcome the following new members: David & Mary (Betsy) Ayers, Taylor Ruble, and Jeffrey Meyer. They were voted in as Full Members at the May Family Gathering. Please introduce yourself as you see the new members and welcome them to our family.

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David and Betsy began attending KSBC in February 2011, after moving to Lafayette for David’s job. David is Associate Dean in International Programs at Purdue University and Betsy is a stay-at-home housewife, who also helps teach English as a Second Language to internationals when needed. David and Betsy have 2 adult children Abby (24) and Taylor (22).

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[Note: The following is Payel's testimony from her baptism on April 29.]

I grew up in a priestly Hindu family in India who believe in many different gods and goddesses. But for some reason, I could never put my faith in the Hindu deities, although I was drawn towards the philosophical aspect of the Hinduism, which taught that through many lifetimes of meditation and good work one can work out the way to heaven. I believed that it would give me great spiritual abilities. I was deemed praiseworthy in my own proud eyes and my deepest desire was to be admired by my friends and family. I didn’t want to believe in God or His judgment, as deep down I didn’t want to face the unpleasant consequences of my selfish acts. Surprisingly, during that time my life was full of good moments as praises poured on me. I was doing pretty well in my school and spirituality seemed like a piece of cake.    

But towards the end of my high school years, there was an increasing sense of emptiness growing inside me. I was not performing the way I used to and that led me to depression. I had to take sleep medication but rest was nowhere to be found. I was distracted from studies and my grades suffered as a result. I didn’t realize it back then, but God had suddenly stripped me off my idols of success and influence that were the sustenance for my pride. During my undergrad years, when I had slipped deep into hopelessness and denial, I came to know about the teachings of Buddha. It offered me just what I needed at that time: a passive way of living to escape the reality and responsibilities. But soon I realized the futility of complicated chants as I saw the Buddhists failing to obey what they themselves taught.

In graduate school, I met my future husband who was my classmate too. We had so much in common that I really hoped he would make me complete. In spite of his patience, my disbelief in God was at collision course with his faith and my behavior lead our relationship into the stormy waters. But God kept us together, even though we failed to realize it back then. As if, whatever I did to make my life better disappointed me in the end.

I came to the US in fall of 2009 in Detroit. A year later in December 2010 when I was visiting my the then boyfriend in Lafayette, he asked me whether I would like to come to this church for Christmas Eve. He was coming to KSBC for about 2 months now. I was reluctant at first as I had never attended any church service before, but I came anyway. That night I went back home feeling quite moved by the worship and hymns. But I kept telling myself that there was absolutely no way that I would believe in Christ. This was because when I learned about Christ’s claim to be the only way to God, I found it too imposing and self-asserting. And I didn’t want to believe in Jesus’ claim to be God as I believed that God doesn’t exist in the first place. On top of that, the word “Christians” used to conjure up Spanish conquistadors in my mind- who killed multitudes and converted many by force and threat in the name of Christianity. But a trip to Washington DC during last year’s spring break with KSBC turned out to be an eye-opener as I met my host family and other people from the church at Virginia. Seeing their everyday gestures of kindness and putting other people first, I realized that my history books’ violent-Christians and the real Christians were a world apart, literally. But there remained a question in my head that why would people do such violent crimes in the name of Christianity??? And an answer dawned on me as a voice that said: DO NOT PUNISH GOD FOR WHAT PEOPLE HAVE DONE. I was wrong in taking people’s actions for God’s will. I went back to Detroit with many fond memories but still didn’t want to believe in Jesus.

Just a few weeks later, on one April night last year, I saw a strange dream where I was in hell. I saw that one by one, everything and everyone that I cherished have departed from me as if they never existed and I was left in this desolate dark place where there is no hope and no peace for me, for eternity. As I went through the ordeal of being in eternal despair, I saw a contour of a man appearing out of nowhere in front of me. He was wearing a long robe that reached his feet. As I saw this man, I remember me kneeling down in front of Him in as if He was my only hope out of that eternal pain and I thanked Him for the bread and the wine. As soon as I gave thanks, I was relieved of the hellish torment.

So far in my life I never believed in hell and I did not know why on earth I would thank any man for bread and wine. I came to believe in Christ as God and the Redeemer thereafter. I took up a bible that was lying at a corner in my apartment and started reading. I came to realize my desperate need for Christ’s mercy in His self-sacrifice and resurrection. I felt truly alive for the first time in my life and as if a great burden has been lifted from me.

Meanwhile, there was an unpleasant academic situation and I had to come to the decision to quit the PhD program I was in. I was scared and heart-broken to lose a career. In that dark hour I remembered God whom I came to know of very recently. Tears rolled down as I ask for nothing but help. What I felt is hard to define, but surely I felt the loving presence of God, the God whom I had denied for all these years responded to my prayers, the faithful God had kept His promise even when I was unfaithful to Him. I felt the innermost of me being lifted up… Following that, I moved in Lafayette after getting married to my boyfriend.  

I can confess today that without the grace of Christ I am an appalling person who is dominated by anger and selfishness. But since God saved me in eternity, He has also guided me towards sanctification in this very life. I have realized that in hurting God’s creations I had actually dishonored Him all throughout. Since that time, I have felt that there are two very different persons living inside me. When facing unpleasant situations, my newer self constantly urges me towards Jesus’ call to deny myself and follow him, but my old self rushes me to retaliate in anger and selfishness and it presses on to look out for my need for comfort even if that means to disobey God. In times like these I remember that whatever I need, Lord will provide me.  I also realized that I cannot win the battle against sin with any good intention or effort on my part simply because I am a sinner and a slave to the sin itself. What can I say?- even my so-called good actions are like means to glorify me and are tainted with pride. So I cling to God even harder and I remember the verse in Philippians, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

In awe  and reverence, when I think of how God chose me to know Him even before I was created, how He loved me beyond measures in spite of my detestable acts, and how His mercy alone has saved me from dying in my sins, makes me pour out in repentance… I remember Jesus’ prayer for a sinner like me just before being arrested and crucified, “I do not ask for these only but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”