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I am the third of four children. My eldest sister is Hannah, then comes Mary, and after me is my brother Elijah. My dad was a pastor, an apologist, and a stand-up comedian. My mother grew up in a pastor’s home; my grandparents, Bill and Joan Sessoms, were in ministry together for over 50 years in…

Growing up as a pastor’s daughter, I always had a knowledge of God—I accepted Christ at age seven during vacation Bible school and renewed my faith in Him when I was 18—but it wasn’t until later in life that I surrendered fully to Him. During the early years of our marriage, my husband and I hosted…

Forty years after the Church of the Nazarene came to my hometown of Greeneville, Tennessee, a holiness preacher came to the hospital and prayed over my parents’ firstborn. The church had given my teenage parents a baby shower, and despite my parents’ resistance toward salvation, the church did not…

I was born into a pastoral family that focused on church planting, which meant that we moved often, from Prince Edward Island to Alberta and a few stops in between. I never swayed too far from Christ throughout my life. Even though I had doubts and did not always make the wisest choices, I felt God…

My testimony begins with the obedience of two parents who followed God’s voice. When my parents were first married, they decided they needed to find a good church home, and that they did. Both were raised in pseudo-Christian homes where things looked okay on the outside, but inside there was…

From the time I said yes to God and became a Christian, I have been experiencing God’s goodness and faithfulness. Many times, in my journey since, I have had to ask forgiveness for my disobedience. Even still, God is faithful. God is good. Regardless of my present circumstances, God keeps reminding…

In the spring of 1999, I was pursuing what I thought was merely an interest. I was taking classes through Nazarene Bible College (NBC) at the extension campus known as the Virginia District School of Ministry. They recruited me at a district layman’s retreat. Learning all the things pastors know…

God has blessed me with a long journey. I became a follower of Christ at age 14, so my story is really His story—I take no credit for anything good I have accomplished. I have lived keenly aware of Jesus’ statement, “… apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). As a kid, I was so bashful that I…

We were back row Sunday morning people, arriving late each time my family attended church. At nine years old, a friend invited me to a Harvest Festival in a barn. I wasn’t used to doing much outside of our family, so this was a huge thing to do. I remember not knowing many people, sitting down, and…

Last spring, as I walked through our garden, I was thrilled to see the fast-growing tomato plants and the size of the fruit they produced. After several weeks of tending, weeding, and watering, the day came when the tomatoes were ripe and ready to pick. Walking carefully through the tomato vines, I…