The years was April of 1964, (60 years ago almost to the day). The place was Faith Church in Rochester, MN. I was all of 14 years old. A few weeks before this incident, the Pastor's daughter, Darlene, invited me to attend youth night at the church. The "speaker" that night was a man by the name of Don Lonie, via a recording. He was a great speaker! After that I started to attend Faith Church on a regular basis. Thanks to our neighbors Johnie & Christine Whitcomb, I never missed a service. They were very short people and drove a Volkswagen. I always sat in the crowded back seat.
When Pastor Logan spoke on Sunday mornings he always gave an invitation to receive Christ. He would ask us to raise our hand if interested in trusting Christ as our Savior. The Lord began to work on my heart and one Sunday I raised my hand, but didn't go forward. The next Sunday, just a week or so before Easter, I raised my hand and went forward and the pastor lead me to Christ that day. I don't remember a lot about that day, but I do remember that from that day forward my life was not the same. Pastor Logan gave us a copy of the Gospel of John and inside was a place for our name and the date we trusted Christ as our Savior. I was so proud of that Gospel of John. I took it home and showed it to my parents, thinking they would be excited about my decision - THEY WERE NOT!!! It wasn't that they were cold and calloused, but they simply had no clue what it was all about.
About a month later, my mom talked with Christine Whitcomb and told her she noticed a big difference in my life and wanted what I had. Christine had the privilege of leading my mom to Christ. That was just the beginning. A few years later, Steve attended a college where his room mate lead him to Christ. Then the twins attended Bible camp and came home with a new "Friend" in Jesus. A few years after that Curt trusted Christ as his Savior. The only one left was my dad, who trusted Christ at the age of 75 - at Faith Church during a morning service. What goes around comes around!
WOW! Just think - 60 years!!!! Where has the time gone!
