My Story
Dan Anderson
Bill Cosby has a comedy routine where he begins by saying "I started out as a child". That is sort of my spiritual testimony. I was saved at the age of nine. I have referred to my salvation experience by saying "from cookies to Christ." I was fortunate enough to have Christian parents that took me with them to Sunday School and Church on a regular basis. However, even as a child I became aware of my need to have my sins forgiven I sensed in my heart that something was missing in my life.
As I struggled with that uneasy feeling in my soul I began to ask questions about salvation, only as a child would do. One thing that constantly haunted me was the question, why? Why did I exist? Why did God make me? Why were there people at all? Why did I live where I live? Why did I live at all? This would complete the constant cycle of wonder. So you can see that I was quite inquisitive about life in general. Then, according to my Sunday school teachers I came to realize my need for Christ. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It also says that if I would confess to Him that I was a sinner and believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead that I would be saved. So on a Sunday morning I went to my mother as we were going through the routine of getting ready to got church and asked her what I needed to do to be saved. She told me to pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart and He would save me. I did and He did. That morning during worship I went forward in church when our pastor offered an invitation to come forward to the altar and give your heart to Jesue. I did that day and was baptized the next Sunday.
As time passed I grew in the Lord from teaching and study. It wasn't all a typical bed of roses but I always knew Christ was with me no matter how difficult life became. Then through the prompting of the Holy Spirit I came to realize God had placed a call on my life for full time Christian service. For me I knew that meant the pastoral ministry. Even though life takes its shots at me and has done so many times, I have experiened over and again Gods grace and he carries me through those dificult times. Dear reader, He will do the same for you. Just trust Him.
