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Your Church History
Hearing one's church history is interesting to me.
Were you raised Apostolic? If not, what were you raised? When did you come to the knowledge of the truth? I've asked this of many people, so it isn't anything uncommon for me. Let's get this thing a-goin' :happydance |
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That was over 25 years ago that I was born again. Thank you Jesus! |
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My Mom was a semi practicing Catholic, my Dad slept in church when we went.
We lived in Virginia when Dad was stationed at Langley. Mom was involved with a prayer group, one of the ladies was AOG. She invited us to attend her AOG church, I received the Holy Ghost when I was around 11. Dad Retired and we moved to Florida, a street preacher showed me Acts 2:38 and I was baptized in Jesus Name when I was about 15. Even though I wasn't in church, I always told my Sister about the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues, and told her she needed the Holy Ghost. Fast forward a few years. An independent Apostolic started home bible studies in Melbourne. He rented out an auditorium and held revival services. My Mom and Sister got the Holy Ghost. The Pastor rented out the women's club and started services. My sister invited me to come. Very ultra conservative Apostolic holiness church. revival, many souls won, church grew to 500+. 20 years in, the Pastor thought it would be a good idea to rename the church, revise the standards and doctrine, and go for more of a TD Jakes type situation. I didn't handle it well and backslid. when I came to myself and needed to plug back into church, I found the church I am attending now, and have been there for close to 10 years. |
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I was born into a UPCI church. OR rather the people I called parents for many years were married in Bro. Witherspoon's church in '45 which I guess is very close to the beginning of UPC.
In '64 a young 20 year old woman from Illinois tangled with a married Air Force service man. The result of that was an unwanted pregnancy. As she traveled about the country she ran into a UPC preacher. We are unsure if this was Bro. Gray in San Diego, or someone else somewhere. He knew of my parents somehow. They had experienced the loss of an unborn child, and were told they could not have any. This pastor saw a chance to give everyone something they needed. Somehow the young woman made her way to San Diego. She lived with the Gray's for a few months - and then gave birth to me. She handed me to my parents 3 days later. She then made her way to the bio-dad somewhere in Montana, he wanted nothing to do with her or the baby. So -she returned to CA. On the way she married another man -also Airforce. She signed the final paperwork giving me to a UPCI family in Feb. of 65. At that time my name was also changed. In 68 they moved us all to Detroit. My dad wanted to work for the auto industry. We attended Bro. Leaman's church in Detroit until about 76. In 72 my dad had a heart attack at a church picnic. He made mom drive him home -and was too stubborn to go to the hospital. A few hours later as I played outside - the pastor and others came to the house, and prayed for Dad. He felt good enough after that to sit up and tell them of my catching a 4lb Bass while fishing with him. The church folk left -and mom made dinner. She called me in and asked me to wake Dad for dinner. I tugged his arm, but I could not wake him. There was a great amount of activity for a bit, the ambulance showed up -running only lights - no siren. They carried my dad to the ambulance - and it was later that evening I learned he had had a second heart attack - and passed on to his reward. Mom stayed with the same church until the worship wars caused her to move everytime a chuch started to move to anything like modern worship music. This continued until I married. We -my wife and I, attended nowhere for a time. You all are familier with the story of several bad churches and song books etc. I received the holy ghost at 13 - for the first time - but by 18 I had lost my zeal, and my beleif in any of it. Do to experience and starting college - a bad combination- led me at one service to a point - where I made a dare to God. I was so lost and so confused. I was sitting on the left side of the church, main entrance was to the Right. I prayed and said - Lord if you are real, you will not let me get to the door. You will stop me somehow. And if I get to the door - I will never enter another church. I do not recommend this method, but I can also assure you - I never made it to the door. Something hit me and I felt like I left the area -but in fact I was stuck at the back of the church, midway to the door - arms in the air speaking in tounges for 20 min or more. I will never doubt God again. The rest is just normal history - Only 5 years ago did I learn the actual events prior to 1968. I also learned that my bio-mother had 1 older child, a girl, and another boy, and girl, she later gave birth to by her husband she met in Utah. It was a secret known by all including several of the children in the church from 68 on - that was kept until I married. Mom told me about a month before the wedding - that I was adopted. The other details were kept by the state of California in a still sealed document. I obtained these records - by the kindness of some folks that work inside and provide these services to those willing to look hard enough. As a result - I now have an older sister, and a younger brother and sister that I know and love. Found through Facebook and other sites, and good old mailing of letters. God, in his wisdom, has returned me to the family I came from after the adoptive family have almost entirely passed on. Including cousins and everything. They welcomed me back - with no questions. I still struggle with issues related to being adopted, you can read the blogs of others, to know that there are some. I struggle with the issues that led me to fight with the Lord, and I still love nothing more than a great song service that breaks out in a worship fest. |
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https://thepottershouse.org/ministries/phipa/ |
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My church history:
-Born to 2nd generation UPC family -Raised in UPC churches -Graduated from UPC Bible College with theology degree -1983 Left UPC when moved and started attending large exUPC but 3 stepper church -1999 Job moved me to another state and attended another large exUPC church but one with the PCI doctrinal position rather than 3 stepper. - Last7 years or so attend non denominational Spirit filled church that baptizes in Jesus name and is pastored by a former UPC Youth Pastor in the same town. |
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Attended various denominational churches as a child...albeit rather infrequently. None Pentecostal. Sitting in a 4th grade class I took a New Tedtament off the shelf and opened up to Mark 16:17-18. Needless to say I was intrigued. As a child, I had a deep interest in spiritual things and over the next few years God began to very subtly lead me toward a Holy Ghost encounter. Right before my 13th Birthday (while walking my dog on the street at night) I finally said “God if this is real I want it.” I had read all the scriptures about speaking in tongues and was convinced it was for me but had never stepped foot in any kind of Pentecostal church. Furthermore, I had never heard anyone speak in tongues. Standing there on the street I lifted my hands as God filled me with the Holy Ghost. I opened my mouth to respond to what I was feeling and began speaking in other tongues. I kept it secret for several months until I finally confided in the youth leader at the baptist church I was attending youth group at. He told me that what I had experienced was from God and that his family all practiced “prayer language” in their home.
When I finally told my mother, she forbid me to ever speak in tongues again. That didn’t work. After some time I convinced my grandmother to take me to some Charismatic / Pentecostal churches and eventually my mother allowed me to start attending the AoG in my town. Approximately 4 years later the Apostolics in my town started working on me, and I was Baptized in Jesus name in May of 2006. I have been in the same church and under the same man of God since then. God has blessed me with a beautiful wife, a good job and we adopted 2 beautiful children this year. My early life was frought with drug addicted parents, poverty and constant instability. I count it a joy to raise my family in the true church and the work of the Lord! |
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I've enjoyed reading all these posts, testimonies, and church histories. I love hearing people's testimonies and how they got to where they are now with God.
And since everyone here has done it already, I'll share some of my story: I was raised mostly in Southern Baptist churches. My family and I attended a Nazarene church for a while, too. I remember having good times while we attended these churches and the few times I cried at an altar; but the crying was never over guilt for my sins or anything. It always had to do with a fear I had, like nightmares, death, etc. When I was still very young, we started attending a Full Gospel Baptist church. It was different than what I was used to. The people here shouted, even danced, and sometimes spoke in tongues. They had large tent revivals where hundreds of people would come; large singing groups, upscale evangelists, etc. None of this ever bothered me, either. We had attended a few non-denominational Pentecostal churches (none of them Oneness) for sings and revivals during my childhood, so the moving of the Spirit and people reacting in a certain manner wasn't entirely foreign to me. I'll fast-forward a little. My parents separated just before I turned eleven. We all fell out of church; both of my parents and me. After a little while, my Father and I drifted back into a large Southern Baptist church. It was beautiful. It had large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, beautiful pews, carpet, platforms, choir loft, etc. Now, you would swear that the pastor and his family of this particular church were holiness people. That's they way they dressed. Now, no one else in the church did but expect a handful of the older ladies. This brother didn't preach like a regular Baptist preacher, either. To this day, I think he has some Pentecost burning in him, and I pray that he and his family see the truth of Oneness and Acts 2:38 and multiply with it. They were such loving and caring people, and they would be great for lost families if they had the Truth. Jumping ahead some more, my Mother remarried and moved to Indiana. I only saw her occasionally. I was living with my Father full-time now, and in 2015, he started seeing this lady whose family had a long history in the Holiness Apostolic church. We started visiting a few Sundays here and there. At first, my Father didn't make me go. He left the option up to me, but as I found out later, he had them pray for me every time he walked in the door. It wasn't too long that we all started attending regularly. I repented at a tent revival on July 10, 2015. My Father and the lady he was seeing had rededicated their lives a week or so earlier, and it wasn't long before this lady's middle son had repented as well. My Father, his girlfriend, and I were all baptized in the river on July 28, 2015. I received the Holy Ghost on February 21, 2016. It took me a while before I got use to the Spirit and how to pray back to it, but it's happening more frequently, but I'll be honest and admit that I do still have issues with praying through. Anyways, my Mother eventually moved back home. Her remarriage had not been a successful one, and she decided to get out of it. I told her I would visit her only if she went to church with me while I was there. Naturally, it would be uncomfortable for all us involved for her to come to my church, so we started attending this independent church near here. They baptized in the name of the Lord, believe Spirit baptism is followed by tongues, and have their roots in the conservative holiness tradition. Now, they have relaxed their expectations on what holiness is, but my Mother had made great progress. She's repented, been baptized, and Spirit-filled, too. I realize now this seems a little choppy, and I didn't really explain a whole lot. If anyone has any specific questions, like my struggles or anything, I'd be more than happy to answer. |
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Brother HR,
I love how Jesus is working in all of your lives, in the messes we make He keeps bringing beauty from ashes. He keeps reaching for us, never giving up on us. |
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I love this song:
God loves a lullaby In a mother's tears in the dead of night Better than a Hallelujah sometimes God loves the drunkard's cry The soldier's plea not to let him die Better than a Hallelujah sometimes We pour out our miseries God just hears a melody Beautiful, the mess we are The honest cries of breaking hearts Are better than a Hallelujah The woman holding on for life The dying man giving up the fight Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes The tears of shame for what's been done The silence when the words won't come Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes We pour out our miseries God just hears a melody Beautiful, the mess we are The honest cries of breaking hearts Are better than a Hallelujah Better than a church bell ringing Better than a choir singing out, singing out We pour out our miseries God just hears a melody Beautiful, the mess we are The honest cries of breaking hearts Are better than a Hallelujah We pour out our miseries God just hears a melody Beautiful, the mess we are The honest cries of breaking hearts Are better than a Hallelujah (Better than a Hallelujah sometimes) Better than a Hallelujah (Better than a Hallelujah sometimes) Amy Grant |
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God loves to save whole families. :thumbsup |
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Born into an RCC family. Not devout. I wasnt baptized in titles until I was 7 years old. In 7th grade I thought maybe I was agnostic. Maybe. By freshman year I thought Islam sounded cool. I didn’t do much research into it. Not much time passed before I was presented wirh the gospel. For the first time it meant something. I broke down and wept. And wept. I accepted the Lord that evening. December 16, 1996. I visited a UPC on September 17, 1997. The presence of God descended on that place. I bawled. Service started. Sang songs. The pastor preached. I remember thinking, “I have never heard preaching like that.” I responded to the altar call. More bawling. I called the church a day or 2 later and requested to be baptized. I returned for Sunday School. Worship service. Altar call. Afer church a minister gave a bible study so I’d know WHY I was being baptized. I returned that night. Songs. Preaching. Altar call. I was kneling at the altar, hiding my face. I prayed quietly. Many people were surrounding me. Praying. Lots of speaking in tongues. Loud. Suddenly everything went quiet. I was in the presence of my God. A still, quiet, peaceful place. I could hear myself talking to God. I don’t know how long I was there. It could have been minutes. It was probably seconds. I really don’t know. And in a moment I could hear that I was still surrounded by people. They were shouting. Rejoicing. “He got it.” And that is when I heard myself speaking to God, but not in anything that sounded familiar. I was baptized moments later. |
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My husband's grandma and my grandma both are the reason he and I came to know Truth. :heart They both were founding members of our local UPC church in the small town we both were raised in. He got the HolyGhost at a young age, probably around 12 years old. I did not get the Holy Ghost until we later married. I was 18. We have strived to live for the Lord ever since.
We raised our children, 2 sons, in the Church. One is now an Apostolic Minister and the other is attending a Baptist Church. The one in the Baptist received the Holy Ghost not long after he married. Wife was very staunch in her Baptist faith. They tried going to both for a while. He finally gave in to her. But, I am trusting and my faith makes me know they and their children will all be drawn by God's Spirit and receive all they need before long! :) |
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I am fifth generation Apostolic. My great grandmother received the HG about the time Pentecost came to South West Louisiana. Her mother came to the truth shortly after that. my grandmother was raised Pentecostal.... it didn't take...exactly.... until some years after she married my grandfather.... he was a terrible fellow. God filled him with the HG at age 70 in 1966.
My mother was raised in a UPCI church. She married my dad who was raised Baptist. my dads father wasn't one to offer much direct advice.... he was more inclined to live a good life as an example. He did tell my dad "I don't mind you marrying that little 'postolic girl, but you be careful because they will GET YOU". They did. Dad received the Holy Ghost in the same revival in 1966 that my moms dad did. Dad said, he got serous about proving those Apostolics wrong so he started studying the bible in earnest. Over a period of several months, the bible just kept proving him wrong and the Apostolics right. Dad decided to take my older sisters to his church one sunday. they were little but prayed like the Apostolics they were.... dads buddies told him to take them back across the tracks to that penetcostal church... LOL. Dad went with them. That's the family I was born into. spent some time in my late teens early 20s trying to prove my parents and God wrong. It didn't work. I found myself 7000 miles from home in the middle of a war. came home figured out who was right, have been committed to this precious truth since. im raising a 6th generation of Apostolics. |
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I am fifth generation Apostolic. My great grandmother received the HG about the time Pentecost came to South West Louisiana. Her mother came to the truth shortly after that. my grandmother was raised Pentecostal.... it didn't take...exactly.... until some years after she married my grandfather.... he was a terrible fellow. God filled him with the HG at age 70 in 1966.
My mother was raised in a UPCI church. She married my dad who was raised Baptist. my dads father wasn't one to offer much direct advice.... he was more inclined to live a good life as an example. He did tell my dad "I don't mind you marrying that little 'postolic girl, but you be careful because they will GET YOU". They did. Dad received the Holy Ghost in the same revival in 1966 that my moms dad did. Dad said, he got serous about proving those Apostolics wrong so he started studying the bible in earnest. Over a period of several months, the bible just kept proving him wrong and the Apostolics right. Dad decided to take my older sisters to his church one sunday. they were little but prayed like the Apostolics they were.... dads buddies told him to take them back across the tracks to that penetcostal church... LOL. Dad went with them. That's the family I was born into. spent some time in my late teens early 20s trying to prove my parents and God wrong. It didn't work. I found myself 7000 miles from home in the middle of a war. came home figured out who was right, have been committed to this precious truth since. im raising a 6th generation of Apostolics. |
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