Kayla: I grew up in a Christian home and was blessed with the opportunity to grow up going to church and learning about God on a weekly basis. From as far back as I can remember, I have known who God is and very early on I made the decision to follow Christ and trust Him as my Lord and Savior.

It would be easy to stop my testimony there, because we often think of our testimony as just “how we came to know the Lord.” However, I feel like that leaves out a huge part of my testimony, which is my personal relationship with Christ. You see, although I came to KNOW Christ at a young age, my relationship with Him didn’t actually grow until I got into college and had to face the decision to follow Him and search for a deeper relationship with Him as I walked through life. During my time in College, I realized that I don’t have to go through life on my own, and that God meant for the church to be a community of believers who lift each other up.

There were so many things that I had been taught growing up in the church, but that I didn’t fully understand until much later in life (and some that I am still learning). In sharing our “testimony” we often forget to mention the growth in our relationships with Christ. I may have been saved as a Child (when I understood the forgiveness from my sins through the blood of Christ), but that doesn’t mean that I instantly had a deep relationship with Christ. That relationship has continued to grow and develop over the years (and will continue to grow with each day that passes).

With each challenge in life I learn more how to lean into God’s Word for strength and comfort, and this is a key part of my testimony as well.

Andres:

I grew up in a Catholic home, but one that proclaimed Catholicism rather than actually living it out in faith. At the very young age of 13, I got involved with drugs and alcohol. Until I finally hit rock bottom, I didn’t realize how lost I truly was. When I did hit rock bottom, a family in my neighborhood began to come alongside of me and they began to talk to me about Jesus Christ. As they began sharing, I wasn’t very interested, but as time continued God softened and changed my heart. It was a difficult process to leave the drugs and alcohol and choose to follow Christ.

Some of the changes that began to happened in my life include: a change in my character, Me returning to and graduating from high school, getting involved in my local church, and beginning to share Jesus Christ with my former friends and my family. I have seen a change in my life over the years as God has used His Word to continue changing parts of my character and who I am at the core. God has also provided amazing mentors who have been key to helping learn and grow in my relationship with Christ.