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!
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.
__________________
I am Apostolic
I believe in One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.
I believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
I believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
I believe in living a holiness lifestyle, inwardly and outwardly, without which no man shall see the Lord.
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.
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
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.
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.
Yes He most certainly does!
__________________
I am Apostolic
I believe in One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.
I believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
I believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
I believe in living a holiness lifestyle, inwardly and outwardly, without which no man shall see the Lord.
I believe in One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.
I believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
I believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
I believe in living a holiness lifestyle, inwardly and outwardly, without which no man shall see the Lord.
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.
My husband's grandma and my grandma both are the reason he and I came to know Truth. 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!
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.
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
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. 
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