About late 2024 I was lost and just not happy with life struggling in about every aspect, living in St Pete but alone, angry a lot and just sad. One day I went out to my car to go lift and my car didn’t start. I called Triple A and the guy said he thought it was the starter. At that time I had little to no money and thought if it’s the starter I’m in a lot of trouble. I grew up in the church and was baptized in 8th grade but had been away for a while (I was 24 at this time). I remember going upstairs and just starting out side of my balcony and felt the urge to go pray. So I went into my room, got on my knees and just asked God for help. I didn’t necessarily know what or how to pray all too well, but just hoped He heard me. I planned to have my car towed in the morning the next day and just finance the work for it to be fixed since it’s the starter. The next morning the two truck driver shows up and he gets out and asks what’s wrong. I tell him they think it’s the starter but he wanted to try his jumpers once. I kid you not he used his jumper machine and my car started right up. And you wouldn’t believe his name.. it was Jesus (Hispanic man). I couldn’t believe it. He said the other guy probably didn’t have strong enough jumper cables to get it going. So all this happened and I ended up only tipping him and the lady with the new battery at AutoZone as that was under warranty.

The next weekend I called my uncle who is on the board at a church in my hometown and we’ve been doing a daily devotional together till this day. I tried out churches and found a church called Radiant and didn’t look back. I prayed for community and got it. I prayed for a bonus with work last year and got it. It’s been an incredible turn around. I no longer am angry. Just filled with gratitude, joy and most of all; trust. Knowing God has all that’s in store for me. Even when things don’t go my way or if I’m struggling, John 13:7 says “You don’t understand now what I am doing but someday you will” and I trust that 100%.

I would say like a lot of people, I was raised in the church and I'm very fortunate to have had that experience. However, I despised going to church growing up, because it was just a part of the routine. it wasn't an in depth experience whatsoever. which led me to growing questionable. "What was the point of this religion we were practicing so much?"

In high school I made the decision to stop going to church with my mom all-together. For a few years, I didn't attend church and I became the most negative, pessimistic person. I complained about everything and I hated myself. Truthfully, I could not stand the soul sucking presence that I had.

One day, one of my friends in high school invited me to the grand opening of their youth building and I walked in; It was unlike anything I've ever experienced before. That was, without a doubt, the first time that I experienced the Holy Spirit and I truly understood why people associated themselves with Christianity. In that moment, it went from being a label (Christianity) to a relationship. It had depth and meaning, and what I felt in that closeness with Him, was honestly life-changing. It left me on fire for him and wanting to grow more into his likeness.

He healed me completely from the negativity that was wearing on my life and he completely brought me out of the self-hatred and the comparison that ruled my life. He literally brought me in to His life and I just could not be more thankful for that. He's just been so good to me and I wish I could go back and tell 17 year-old me, who 27-year-old me turned out to be. The Lord met me in my filth.

I grew up a PK. You probably know the stereotypes. The kid who practically lives at church, who is expected to have the right answers, who knows all the Bible stories but sometimes feels like they are living in the shadow of everyone else’s faith.

I knew about God, but I did not truly know God. Ya know?

Throughout my childhood our family moved across the United States more times than I can count. With each move came a new church, a new denomination, a new expression of faith. Different traditions, different cultural nuances, different theological emphases, yet all of them proclaiming the same central reality: that there is a God far beyond our full comprehension. I started to learn how everyone else saw God. However, I was still trying to learn how I saw God.

Here’s some context: My parents realized, four children later, that sustaining a family on a pastor’s salary was becoming increasingly difficult. My dad accepted a job that allowed our family to make ends meet. The tradeoff, however, was constant relocation. Nine states. Fourteen moves. Calling myself a military brat would’ve been a cool story. However, this wasn’t the case. Instead, I was the kid who repeatedly appeared halfway through the school year quietly trying to figure out where I fit into yet another unfamiliar environment.

By the time my tenth move came around I found myself sitting in my third middle school. I remember asking a question that many people quietly wrestle with: How could a good God give me such a difficult life?

No consistency.
Surface level friendships.
No hometown.
No sense of permanence.

For a long time it felt like I was missing out on the life everyone else seemed to have. But something began to shift when I entered high school. I started observing the lives of my peers, the ones who had grown up in the same town with the same friends, the same community, the same schools. From the outside their lives appeared stable, even ideal. But the more closely I paid attention the more I realized something unexpected. Many of them were just as disoriented as I was. Some even more so. That realization forced me to confront something deeper. I had been evaluating the quality of my life according to the world’s standards.

The world has a way of convincing you that fulfillment is found in stability, popularity, comfort, or circumstance. It constantly whispers that someone else has the better life. But when I stepped back and examined my own story more honestly, I realized something remarkable.

In the middle of all my inconsistency, I had actually been given something profoundly consistent: Jesus. The irony was that I had never truly surrendered my life to Him. I had been surrounded by faith my entire life. I had been prayed for, taught Scripture, encouraged, and guided. But proximity to faith is not the same thing as personal surrender.

It was as if the greatest gift imaginable had been sitting right in front of me for years and I had simply never reached out to receive it. Early in high school that realization became impossible to ignore. I finally gave my life to the Lord and suddenly my story began to take on a completely different meaning.

All the moves.
All the unfamiliar places.
All the seasons of loneliness.

They were not random disruptions… they were shaping something. They were forming perspective, resilience, and a story that I could one day share with people who feel displaced, uncertain, or forgotten. Looking back now I see something I could not see then.

God was never absent in the instability.

In fact He was quietly directing every step of the journey even when I could not recognize it, just as Scripture reminds us that the Lord orders the steps of those who trust in Him.

Nine states.
Fourteen moves.
Endless schools.
Short friendships.

And yet through all of it one thing never changed… Jesus. Christ was present the entire time, even in the moments when everyone else seemed temporary. And now when I look back on that journey I do not see chaos. I see providence. I see a counselor. I see Him.

I grew up in church and figured that my relationship with Jesus was automatic. It wasn’t until a youth group retreat that I truly understood I needed my own relationship with Him, not something based on what my parents or other people have, but based on what Jesus has done for me. So I asked Him to be my Lord and Savior that night and ever since I’ve been growing closer to Jesus and become more like him. It’s definitely a journey of growth, you never have it all figured out. But it is a daily cross to bear, and it’s so worth it.

My name is Dacey and my testimony starts the day I was born. I was born into a world not made for me. Quickly after I was born, my parents found out I was born with Achondroplasia dwarfism. This was something they never expected and was such an unknown for them. In that moment, my parents had no idea what this life would look like for me since I would be different than everyone else around me.

Growing up, I didn’t start to recognize my difference until I hit middle school. Middle school is when everyone is trying to figure out who they are. And I was just trying to figure out why God chose me to be the different one. “Why not anyone else?” I had very little self confidence and always believed I needed to make up for my dwarfism in the eyes of others by being funny, super skinny, and liked by everyone. Not until I had graduated high school were my eyes opened to how beautiful it can be to be different when you trust God.

God opened my eyes to see that He made me exactly how I was supposed to be and for a purpose. He wanted me to have confidence in Him and not the things of this world or the way I looked. This is when my life changed, when I started seeking my confidence in Him and not in myself. With God, I went from a girl who hated being different to being a girl who wouldn’t change her God-given difference for anything! God made each and every one of us exactly how we’re meant to be, don’t miss the life He’s given you trying to be someone else!

I grew up exposed to drugs and alcohol at a young age. I was very far from God I let my addiction take control of my life for a long time when I lost my mom in 2020 that’s when things got dark I didn’t want to live anymore. I was facing serious jail time I was homeless because of my addiction I pretty much lost all hope in myself, but when I was at my lowest, I got on my knees and prayed for the first time which led me to call my brother for help cause I was ready to change my life. He invited me to church. I was really hesitant about coming, but I’m glad I did. I raised my hand for salvation that day and I’ve been following Christ ever since and God has gave me a sober beautiful life today and I now have 2 1/2 years of sobriety because I follow God’s Will and not mine.. Dominic

I grew up going to church with my family, but really didn’t understand anything and just did it because my parents made me. I believed in God, but didn’t have a real relationship with Him. When I was about 14 my parents stopped making us go to church, so I continued to fall away from God.

I started smoking weed in high school, and then started partying a lot when I went to college. It got worse and worse, leading me to be arrested multiple times for weed and a DUI. It all came to a head when I realized I was ruining my life and God had a better plan for me.

I gave my life to the Lord at a business conference and because of the friends I had around me encouraging me to change. Things got amazingly better from there, and I am forever changed because of my relationship with Jesus.

Growing up I was raised in the catholic faith. I was forced to go for most of my early childhood, until around age 12 or so. I always knew something was off but could never really do anything about it. From that I always thought that Jesus was real and God but thought the bible was fake. I figured I was a good enough person and wasn't that bad, definitely not as bad as people around me, and that I would be in heaven because of that.

Fast forward some years to high school, I was like a lot of people that age, partying, s*x, alcohol, etc. But still thought because I had good morals I was fine and it was my heart that mattered at the end of the day. I now realize how far from God I was and that I truly had no idea who I was.

Fast forward again to early adulthood around age 21. I met my wife a couple years prior and we both were living in sin before and after we got married. My childhood best friend had been going to church and deepening his faith for a couple years at this point and had been sharing it with me and trying to get me to go to Church. Me and my wife went for a little bit then just fell off after a while. Both of us still not fully believing in the Gospel, not truly knowing God and what Jesus actually did for us. A couple months, maybe a year, down the road my marriage became a little rocky. Started fighting a lot, anger and emotions always boiling. Thought we were getting to a point where we may not make it. I felt like something was missing. I was doing all the things, I had a good job, a nice car, a nice house, a wife, dogs, good parents, like I pretty much had it all. But in my heart I felt like something was missing.

My childhood best friend continued to share the gospel and to share wisdom, and continued to invite me and my wife to church. He continued for a while, talking to me all the time at the gym about it. With him being persistent and I feeling like something was missing, I started to feel like maybe I should. He must have sensed it, because he told me just to say yes, and to give him my word that I would. I told him, I might but my wife would not be happy that I was. We would fight because she would think thatI'm going for my friends (which was part of the reason). I kept coming up with reasons on why and how it would affect this or that. Eventually I gave him my word, I am the type of guy that if I give my word then I will do it, and he knew that. He also gave me some encouragement, wherever you go your wife will follow. I said there is no way, she is not going to follow me if she doesn't want to or doesn't like what I am doing. So I went home and told my wife that I was going to church that week. Of course it started a big fight, and honestly made me not want to go. I didn't want to upset her, but I still felt like something was missing in my heart. (my wife now calls it the Jesus shaped hole in our hearts) Sunday came around and I went. Crazy enough the sermon that day was over exactly what I was going through. I even teared up which I don't normally do.I went home and told my wife it was great and I was going back. Which she still wasn't happy about. I went back and the same thing that sermon was speaking to me. I said I am coming back. Well the 3rd Sunday came around, as I was leaving my wife rushed right past me and got in the car. Unknown to me she had watched the last 2 sermons online to catch up and decided to goto church with me that day.

To this day we have not missed. (of course we have had times where we are out of town, but we have not fallen off and not gone back) I took a leap of faith and God blessed me and had my wife join me. Since then my wife and I have become part of the church. Serving as leaders at our young adult ministry, serving on Sundays with kids during kids church, being on prayer team, and a handful of other teams. We fully embraced this life God called us too, and have been growing in faith together ever since then. God truly turned my life around, and now I could not imagine being that guy I was when I walked in the Church that first time years ago.

Growing up, I was raised in a Christian home. My parents always did their best to point me toward Christ. We were in our faith, but not really in our faith, if that makes sense. Growing up, my parents were strict, and a lot of times following God did not feel like following God. It felt more like obeying my parents.

Because of that, I began to build up resentment. God started to feel like a killjoy. I thought, Why is He holding out on me? So I got really good at hiding my sin. Throughout school I felt like I was living a double life. I was cool with everybody, but I did not really feel close to anybody. I could fit in with the athletes, the popular kids, and different groups, but deep down I felt really alone. I struggled with anxiety and insecurity, and I believed my standing with God was based on whether I had been good or bad.

During my senior year of high school, my family was invited to a new church because my mom’s hairdresser’s husband was getting baptized. At the time, we had been visiting different churches and had not really found a place to settle. This church was brand new in town, and it was actually their first day in the building they are still in today. My family loved it.

Around that same time, I was getting into videography and had a background in creative things like websites, photography, and graphic design. Since the church was new, opportunities quickly opened up for me to get involved, and I did.

Through that, God started working in my life.

My faith started growing because I was surrounded by people who did not just claim Christianity, they actually lived it. They did not just know Bible stories like I did. They actually read the Bible, and honestly, that was kind of foreign to me. I knew the stories growing up, and maybe I had read Scripture a few times a year, but it was not alive to me.

But as I started reading the Word for myself, God began to shift something in me. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” That is exactly what happened. As I began drawing near to Him, He began transforming my life.

I still did not have everything figured out, but God started something in me.

That eventually led to a part-time job at the church, where I got to use the gifts God had given me creatively and continue growing. But even then, I would not say God was everything to me. He was still more a part of my life than my life itself.

But He was working.

In 2018, I went on my first mission trip, and the bubble of what I thought the world was completely shattered. I saw brokenness. I saw poverty. I saw the need for Jesus.

But I also saw people surrounded by devastating circumstances who had joy in Christ.

On that trip I taught my first Bible lesson, and leaders started speaking things into my life that I had never really seen before. After coming back, I began taking more steps of faith and started leading Bible studies myself, even though I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

The next year I got really sick. Nobody could figure out what was wrong. Doctor after doctor, appointment after appointment. I experienced pain, weight loss, and they even thought it could be cancer.

I remember leading up to those scans and a bone marrow biopsy, laying in my bed at night crying for hours, terrified and crying out to God.

“Why, God?” I mean I had just started really taking this seriously. I was serving Him. How could he let this happen!?!? And God was so kind to meet me there.

Looking back, I believe God asked me the same question He asked His disciples in Matthew 16:

“Who do you say I am?”

That question hit me like a brick wall.

Who was Jesus really to me?

Was He just there to make my life easier? To heal me? To answer my prayers? To serve me?

Or was He truly the King of kings, Lord of lords, the Savior who died on the cross for my sins?

Was He really who He claimed to be?

And my answer was yes.

In that season I was met with the words of Jesus in John 16:33:

“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

God’s peace met me. Not because He changed my circumstances, but because He had already done what I could never do.

He had healed my greatest need.
The sickness of sin and death.

And I remember realizing, if I really believe this is true, then how can I not live for Him? How can I not give Him every ounce of my life?

It was through that trial that God truly called all of me to Himself.

And I am forever grateful for the peace He has given me, the joy He has given me, the love He has given me, and the life He has given me.

I am grateful for the opportunities I now have to proclaim the good news of a God who truly heals all diseases, who will wipe away every tear, and who takes sinners and calls them sons and daughters and heirs.

He saved me by grace through faith. And this was not from myself. It was the gift of God.

My testimony is that of one that grew up in the church with two parents that love Jesus and knew how to disciple their children, with grandparents that also were leading them to Christ. I had a whole village around me. Within that, I still had to figure out my walk for myself. My dad was clear on making sure my brother and I knew that we weren't saved because of our church attendance, because of going to youth group, or for serving or getting involved in the church. None of that was necessary. None of that could save us. It wasn't a hereditary situation, it was a decision that we had to make for ourselves.

Ever since then, I've taken a path of learning and growing, my faith became more real through different experiences in life in college. But before that in high school, I did have an experience where my life became a lot more finicky than I can remember. I almost lost my life in a white water rafting accident, and that made me reconsider, like what would my life mean? Who was I living it for? What did it mean? I struggled with that for a while, and somebody told me, in that season, that if you're not dead, then God's not done, and that God is still building a story. That has been something that has continued to steer me forward, continue to encourage others, and continue to walk out the faith that has been grown in me and nurtured.

Jesus just continues to save my life every day. Praise God.

I grew up in a dysfunctional family unit and struggled significantly with my self confidence from a young age. When I was 14, I attended a church summer camp where I gave my life to Jesus for the first time. I had a burning passion for God and felt like I belonged to a community for the first time. During high school and college I started dating unbelievers and slowly drifted away from God. After a break up with my boyfriend of 4 years, I felt empty and decided to turn to God again, this time going all in, not turning back. I discovered God was patiently waiting for me. Since then, Jesus has completely turned my life around. I know my identity is in being His daughter and true satisfaction can only be found in Him! He has given me purpose, an amazing community and an indescribable joy!

The salvation project, that's me. That's all of us. We are on a journey, searching for purpose. I thought I knew my purpose but it only increased the emptiness I felt the more fervently I pursued it. That changed when I encountered the Creator of the universe through his son, Jesus. God's salvation project is His work in us. We find meaning and purpose when we allow him to work through us, serving others, and sharing his message of hope and live with those we meet along the path of life.