I’ve grown up in a Christian home of sorts. Mum did a great job leading and teaching me about Jesus given the circumstances. But even with that guidance I just coasted along for many years- going to church, bible studies, youth groups and other Christian activities- without any real interest. To be honest I can’t say I even wanted to be there. I’ve been attending Drouin Presbyterian church since about 2011, but for the most part of the first 5 years I am not proud of what my relationships with God, family and friends were like. But even through all the mistakes I’ve made and pain I’ve caused, I can confidently say God has been with me. In 2015-2016 a lot changed for me, especially my relationship with God and in turn that has greatly affected my relationship and attitude to family and friends around me. I can now see what is important in life and it’s not me. I now understand what God has done for me in giving his son to die on the cross for my sins. I’ve realised that I am a sinner and that I need Jesus to help me. I’m still far from perfect, but knowing what Jesus has done for me makes me want to help and encourage others to follow him also. Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” From now my only hope is that I live my life by Gods word, and fully rely on his strength and not my own. Becoming a Christian has given me such a feeling of freedom, it’s incredible. And I am so thankful knowing that Jesus has taken what I was owed, and restored my relationship with God.

At the end of the day, I’m a Christian because of God’s grace. This relentless mercy has been shown to me time and time again, largely through the Christians in my life that I’ve been blessed to know, and who provide an example of what it means to be a follower of Christ. One of the things I find most convincing and compelling about the Gospel is the implicit rightness of Jesus and his actions, how he epitomises everything that we instinctively know to be good and just. It’s by his self-sacrifice that I’ve been saved, ‘for by grace you have been saved through faith, and it is not your own doing, it’s a gift of God’ (Ephesians 2:8). I grew up in a Christian family, and my parents served as missionaries in Ethiopia for several years. They’ve been outstanding examples to me of imitating Jesus’ self-sacrifice. But I don’t want to rock up to church every week just because my parents do, because faith isn’t genetic, and I’ve found it difficult recently to challenge and question my own beliefs whilst retaining obedient faithfulness. Here, I’ve found discussing issues with other believers very helpful.  I’m still an immature Christian, still doubtful and still torn between God and the world at times. Hopefully that will change by God’s mercy and his Holy Spirit.

It was a great start in life to have Christian parents, but it didn’t make me a Christian. Being a missionary kid I heard and saw amazing examples of Christian faith and God at work in PNG – but rather than inspiring me to become a Christian I felt that I wasn’t good enough and that God was probably too busy with more important things than to take notice of me. I never doubted the many stories of the Bible that I learned at home and church and the way God worked in human history - but it never seemed to be my story. Around the end of primary school my family attended the Easter Convention at Belgrave Heights and God used the preacher not only to convince me that my sin was part of the reason for Jesus’ death, but that in His death Jesus paid for that very sin and every other sin I had committed. Like the people in Acts 2:37 , I was “cut to the heart,” asked God to forgive me and found out He wasn’t too busy to take notice of me. It was profound to me that I now knew God - because previously I only knew about Him. Through all the ups and downs of life from that moment and to this day God has shown me that I have a place in His story – now and forever. 

I have loving Christian parents and grew up in the church. However, as a Pastor’s daughter, I felt a burden of expectation that I could never live up to, nor that could relate with my adventurous spirit. In my early teens, I stopped going to church altogether. My interests and identity were shaped by my worldly friendships and culture, and while I knew about Jesus, I “neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him”. I worked hard at school and work, finding my worth in the acceptance of others. I gratified the desires of the flesh through partying, drinking, immorality, and the like. The world was my oyster, and I did what I wanted. Even so, I wasn’t totally estranged from Christianity. My parents had given me a Bible with a front cover that appealed to my interests, and I was curious enough to occasionally open it and start reading, but never for long as it didn’t make sense to me. When I was 17, that began to change. While travelling alone overseas, God widened my perspective as He put me through uncompromising experiences that quelled my pride. Although I came to know the Lord was to be revered, I was afraid of losing the acceptance of my friends and the freedom to follow my own interests. When I returned home, my world was shaken even more. One of my sisters was battling aggressive cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. I was staring into the face of death; but I realised it wasn’t hers, it was my own. While I was scared and angry, she was able to praise her Lord whom she trusted. I would criticise her faith, but she was not ashamed. For her, Jesus was even more precious than life. I was forced to ask again; Who is this Jesus? Living out of home, not knowing where else to turn, the Lord brought me to read Romans and for the first time my eyes were opened to understand the gospel. God’s love and mercy weren’t based on my efforts nor my will but on His faithfulness and sacrifice. All my life I had heard people telling me who they thought Jesus was, but now I finally knew Him, revealed by grace, through his Word. Christ brought me into new life through the Spirit as I called upon his name. Although I sometimes struggled with my old habits, they no longer defined me; I needn’t be afraid or put to shame. Each day through prayer and reading the Bible give me new encouragement and freedom from the sin that once enslaved me.  I have come to know Jesus Christ not only as my Saviour but also my Lord. It is no longer I who lives, but He in me. Whatever is given up, Jesus promises incomprehensibly better. He has given me a new identity and living hope, setting my eyes on the glory and riches of eternal life with Him. Praise be to God.

I’m one of those super blessed kids who was brought up in a Christian home. We were taught not just how to believe, but to know what we believed and why we did. Because of this, I knew that God was very present in my life and I’d seen so much evidence of His existence and His providence and love that I knew I’d be an idiot to ignore the truth. However, while I believed God was real and I wanted to go to heaven (who wouldn’t?), I didn’t want someone else to control my life. I wanted to be my own boss. I wanted to have all the privileges of being God’s child, but no responsibilities. I wanted to make my own choices because I didn’t trust God to make the decisions that I wanted. So I didn’t obey God’s rules. I lived my own life and did things my way. I was sullen, moody and aggressive. There was so much anger and hatred burning in my soul that it was no wonder I became depressed. I told myself I was happy, but in reality I was miserable. Sin was so enticing and so addictive that I thought I was okay, but I would cry myself to sleep every night knowing that I was causing my family to grieve for me. But I still couldn't quite bring myself to give my life over to God yet. In the end, I just gave up. I wanted to run away from everything, but I forgot one very important thing.
God hadn’t given up on me.
He was there, every step of the way. He was there when I hated everything, including Him and yet He still loved me. What love was this?  I remember crying out to Him eventually; begging Him to forgive my sins and to replace my broken heart and soul with His heart of love. And He did.
Over the last 4 years, I’ve never before felt such an overwhelming amount of love for God’s people and for spreading His word. I finally have purpose because I know I belong to Him. Sometimes it’s still hard to let go of my dreams to follow God’s plans but in the end, but “[I] know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

I've grown up in a Christian home, praying, reading the bible, going to church and Sunday school. Surrounded by Christians, it was not hard for me to make Christ my Saviour also. Although I was always a 'good little boy' and Christ was my Saviour, it took a lot longer for Him to be my Lord, ruling my life and all that I do. I did the right thing, but I did it because it's just what I did and really no other reason than that. While I believed in God and went to church, I separated my life into two categories. My 'church' life, and 'my' life. Back in 2014 I realised Jesus had to be the Lord of all my life, and everything I do should be for His glory alone. I had to live for Him in all areas of my life. I couldn't go about my day forgetting about God and then remembering Him again when we said grace at tea time. 'Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.' (1 Corinthians 10:31) Christ is now my Saviour and my Lord and although I struggle daily with my sin, I look to God for strength and encouragement to continue on in the midst of my struggles.

Born into a close-knit Christian family, God amazingly provided for me to grow up hearing the gospel and being taught the truth of His Word. From an early age I had full assurance that God was real and of His sovereignty over all things. At 8 years old, God convicted me of my need to believe in Jesus for forgiveness and brought me to trust Him as my Saviour. Leading through to my mid-teens, my Christian worldview and understanding grew as God continued to teach me from His Word and through the ministry of faithful pastors. When I reached Year 10, I felt the weight of Jesus’ words that “ Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me ” (Matthew 16:24). God’s Word challenged me to consider what it meant for Jesus to be my Lord, not just to know Him but to live actively for Him. As I completed high school, I felt the call of Jesus to serve Him not just in my heart, but also in my work and life.  Since then, I have often been conscious of God’s leading and providence. Whether I recognised it at the time or only in hindsight, God’s hand has always been at work to guide and grow my faith, even when facing great challenges. When God is gracious to use me to show His goodness, it is as He enables me. When I still wander astray and am convicted of my sin and shortcomings, Jesus reminds me that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Whether in times of blessing or hardship, I am entirely dependent on His mercy and strength, constantly in need of His grace. In the words of John Newton, “I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Saviour.” Whatever I face, God has given me humble joy and thankfulness in the assurance that “...he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ ” (Philippians 1:6). To Him be the Glory.

It was a beautiful sunny day, the birds were singing and fluffy white clouds were floating through the sky. Actually scratch all that, I became a Christian when I was around 4 years old. I was standing in front of our washing machine and asked my 9 year old sister how to become a Christian. I don’t remember much about my initial transformation but growing up in a home that valued living for God above all else has been an amazing experience. Through my primary school and teenage years God used various ways to grow me in my faith and knowledge of him. Different kids programs and youth groups helped to grow my biblical knowledge but the ability to share my hope in and love for Jesus with non-Christians who also attended helped to solidify my convictions. In Year 11 I listened to a sermon on the fact that our whole lives can be a mission-field. Even though I had heard other messages on the same topic, this one impacted me in a way that hadn’t happened before. Quite soon after, God gave me an opportunity to become involved in our church’s children’s program. He also gave me courage to be bolder at sharing my faith in my work, school and uni situations. I am continually amazed that God chooses us to help share the good news of Jesus with others even though we constantly fail Him. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, For he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Even though I am weak, God is able to use my weaknesses to show his amazing glory to those around me.

I was brought up in a Christian home in which both parents were passionately involved in Sunday school and actively involved in the church fellowship. During childhood I was sustained by my parents’ faith and their commitment. As a teenager I enjoyed church fellowship in the various church and Christian activities and during this time I put a ‘Christian face’ on but I never made the heart commitment to accept Jesus as my saviour. I’d hear the call from the pulpit to come forward to accept Jesus as my saviour and pray the sinners pray but always resisted. ‘I’m not ready’.... ‘It’s not for me at the moment’... and ‘I’m going to fail God being a Christian’... were a few of the many excuses I gave myself. In my early adulthood whilst attending church Jesus touched my heart and I acknowledged his calling and gave myself to him. All these excuses fell away... I needed Jesus... I was a sinner and no matter how I was living my life, whether attending church or not, I was not in God’s favour until I finally put my trust in Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6  The years that followed I was baptised in the Baptist church, became a member and raised my children in knowing Jesus. I came to the Presbyterian Church when my children were participating in kids outreach programs and soon I began to attend regularly. Though I have been attending for a number of years I now feel it’s time to make this Church my home and commit to glorify and worship God within his family here.

“For God so loved the World that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have Eternal life. God did not send His Son into the World to condemn it but to save it.” John 3:16-17 I was born just after the Second World War into a middleclass family. We attended the Presbyterian Church in Burwood. I was baptised into the church with in weeks of birth and continued my attendance until I was 18years old. At the age of 12 years I made a commitment to Jesus. In family life I was much loved and nurtured. In 1963 aged 14 years, my father suddenly died. We did so much together. He was a godly man, reinforcing the Word of God and the standards he expected me to live by. Without him I felt lost. He was my hero. He loved me dearly. By July 1967 the Beatles pop group brought out a song called “All you need is love”- a message that appealed to many young girls including me. What I did not realize was that the Beatles lyrics were to spread another type of gospel; a revolution of sexual freedom. Influenced by “pop" movement and peer pressure I gradually forgot my Church involvement. By 1978 after years of bad decisions, which resulted in misery and hopelessness, I turned back to God for help. This time I surrendered my broken life to Jesus. As I spent time reading the Bible, attending Bible studies and church, Jesus revealed He loved me. He forgave all my sins through His sacrificial death on the cross. I believed, through faith that Jesus had risen from the grave giving me a new life. In 1981, I was baptised by emersion and filled with the Holy Spirit. The rest is history.  My testimony is more aptly summed up in Titus 3 verses 3-7. Once I too was foolish and disobedient. I was misled by others and became a slave to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. But then God my Saviour showed me His kindness and love. He washed away my sins and gave me a new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Holy Spirit upon me because of what Jesus Christ did for me. Jesus declared I am not guilty because of His great kindness and now I have inherited Eternal life.

All my life, I have known Jesus, read scripture and been surrounded by people who love God. Despite the scripture I had memorised, the Bible studies I attended and Chris tian circles I ran in, I struggled greatly to take that knowledge, and what I believed to be true, to heart. I often felt like I wasn’t as “spiritual” as my Christian friends, almost like I was missing something. Without a doubt I knew I loved Jesus and his saving grace, and I trusted his plan for my life, but something inside me didn’t feel satisfied. I treated prayer as a token thanks to God and didn’t have the deep relationship that I now cherish. But something really changed when I finished school. As life changed, I began to earnestly talk to God, pouring myself out to Him. That year I prayed that God would make me more like Himself, to be more patient. Far sooner than I was expecting, I was struck with the fact my circumstances had significantly changed, yet my attitude had remained peaceful. From this point, I began to pray for other fruits of the Spirit. Since then, my heart has truly grown in Christlikeness making me even more grateful for God’s love toward me. Now, each day gives me an opportunity to be joyful in Christ, kind to those around me and demonstrate the love God has for us. I am so grateful for the way my heart is changing and being molded, thankful I can be a daughter of the King, in unity with him.  ‘But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:16-18) .

I was raised in a very loving Christian family in South Africa with parents who love the Lord. My parents are still part of the same Dutch Reformed church I went to all my years at home. I was baptised there and went to Sunday school and listened to our minister preach throughout my school and University years. I feel very blessed as I write this as my relationship with God has been a lifelong one. I am so thankful for many wonderful Christian friends and family throughout my life at all times. People whose wise counsel and love kept me grounded in my faith at times when I doubted. I lived and worked as an audiologist in 5 countries and travelled a lot, but no matter where lived, I always joined a church and Bible study group. I was guided by His Word and Holy Spirit, but also through friends and family whose support and encouragement along the way was clearly God’s work which He does so miraculously, intelligently and timely. On my journey with God, looking back on my life I have found my faith in God and His son Jesus Christ renewed and strengthened most through the difficult times. I read once that when we walk with God through dark valleys, we become inseparably connected with Him. Often I didn’t realise it at the time, but God was always at work in situations where I thought life wasn’t making any sense. Proverbs 16:9 says ‘In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. ’ In my life’s journey God is at the steering wheel regardless of where I want to go. He has blessed me with a wonderful husband who is now on the journey with me and I can’t thank God enough for the blessing of being His child.  I hold close to my heart Ephesians 1:7-10, ‘In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished onto us. With all wisdom and understanding he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.’

I grew up in a Catholic family. I was baptised as a baby and received first communion in my local church in Sicily. I attended church fairly regularly with my mother until my early teenage years. My father was not a Christian and he wasn’t a good man. When my family broke apart during my high school years, I started to become distant from God and I became doubtful about His love for me. I started to believe that I was in control of my life. I told myself I was a good person, living an honest life and caring about others and therefore I don’t need to think about God. But luckily God didn’t shut me out the way I did with Him. I always had the influence and support of a wonderful Christian mother in my life. She said a few years ago that she was praying for me to find someone special in life to fall in love with and to get married. Little did I know how amazingly God answers prayers. Not only did I find love but I found God and my faith in Him again through love. My wife took me to church and spoke to me about God from the time we met. I started to regain my faith in God and His son Jesus who died for my salvation. I realised how blessed I was and how God has never left or forsaken me, but how His will lead me to where I am.  God has definitely tested my faith but at the same time He has provided me with His amazing grace and mercy while battling personal health issues for the last 7 months. He so clearly showed me that I’m not in control of my life, but He is and for this I praise Him. Recently I heard Psalm 91:14-16 “Because he loves me’’, says the LORD ‘’I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.’’ This passage spoke to my soul and I find comfort in God’s sovereign control and everlasting love in my life.

From a young age I was exposed to Christianity, growing up in a Christian home. Both my parents and grandparents have played a significant role in developing my faith, by teaching me at home, bringing me to church, here, and being Christian role models for me. I learnt the truth about God - that he sent his son, Jesus, to die for us so that we may have a relationship with God - and I believed it to be true. Gradually, however, I have developed my faith so that I not only believe in God, but I have also developed a personal relationship with Him. This has led me to become more active in my faith by reflecting Him in my life. Although I have always called myself a Christian I didn’t always strived to be Christ-like. Today I remain far from reflecting the image of God, but I spend more time focusing on it as a goal. This change has, and continues to be, gradual. I fail in so many ways, so often, but I rely on God’s forgiveness and I know that He will always accept me with open arms. I know I can never be perfect in God’s eyes through my own strength, but by God’s grace alone. However, out of thankfulness for His mercy and grace I want to devote my life to Him in every way possible. A bible verse that helps encourage and remind me to devote my life to Him is Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” This verse challenges me as it asks me to give up myself entirely as a sacrifice for God, which hasn’t always been easy. But, as I continue to grow in faith, I strive to devote myself more and more to God and being more Christ-like. God’s promise to be always by my side helps to strengthen me to face the challenges of this world.