Ronnie- January 22 Marsha -June 25
Anniversary- January 25, 1992
On this page you can read
testimonies of our salvation, stories from our lives, and personal information.
Ronnie- January
22 Marsha -June 25
Anniversary- January 25, 1992
Alyssa - January 24, 1993 Anna - April 23, 1994 Amber - December 20, 1996 Austin - September 02, 1998
Ronnie
New Hope
Baptist Church
Gary
Austin
A
brief account of the events leading to my salvation:
My mother and father took me to church services until the age of seven. Then unfortunate
circumstances resulted in the divorce of my parents marriage of thirteen years.
I was the youngest of three with two older sisters, Joy and Amy. The
divorce left our family in serious spiritual decay.
I hold no resentment toward my parents in any way.
They where young and out of the will of God.
The focus on their own life more than
the life of their children resulted in
the world raising us through the entertainment media and without surprise being
introduced to alcohol and drugs at an early age.
By the time I was thirteen I was a regular marijuana smoker as well as an
alcohol abuser. Don't ask me how I kept myself supplied, all I know is if I
didn't have it I was stealing, lying, cheating and begging to get it. All
the hard drugs where used and I took no thought what so-ever of the
consequences.
I was expelled from high school at the age of fifteen for selling
illegally obtained prescription drugs. I was a minor, and the laws being
relaxed on minors in those days, I was given community service and
warning. As long as the court system is getting money they really are not
concerned about the drug and alcohol abuse.
At age seventeen I joined the US Navy with my mothers consent and headed
off for California. My military career was cut short due to the heavy use
of drugs and alcohol. I was discharged with an OTH (Other Then Honorable)
discharge after a brief one year
of service. Between the conviction of drug abuse and my discharge I spent
3 months in the Navy Brig. I remember crying myself to sleep at night
and telling God if He would get me home I would straighten up and live for
Him. Of course these where hollow promises rising out of a heart full of
self centered gratification and self-concern.
When I arrived home there was not much of a change in my life, I went
right back to the old friends and the usual routine of getting high. I received two
charges of Driving While Intoxicated and spent time in jail for the second
offence. This was a small wake up call but not enough to shake me into my senses.
When I turned 19 I somehow managed to move to Richmond, Virginia by
myself. I found a room to rent and a job in a grocery store. God
only knows how I made it in such a big city by myself, so young, and so vulnerable
to the world.
It was during this time that I hit rock bottom. Living in a run
down apartment with two other low-lifes from different states, we shared the
apartment rent and lived most of the time without electricity and food. I
lost forty pounds of weight within six months of heavy alcohol and drug
use. I can only praise the Lord for His protection on my life during these
months in Richmond.
I remember laying on the bed one night and thinking about dying.
Where would I go? Would I spend eternity in hell?
My mother, her two sisters, and my grandfather made a Gospel singing tape
back in the early seventies. Mom mailed the tape to me while I was in
Richmond. I remember opening up the package, finding the tape, and shaking
my head, just chunking it to the side. It wasn't anything I wanted to
listen to. That night while I lay in the bed, crying, and thinking of
dying, I found the tape and put it in a casette player. The song went
something like this, "Ain't no grave, gonna hold my body down, When I hear
that trumpet sound, gonna get up out of that ground." I remembered
hearing about he rapture, the coming of the Lord, and the end times when I was
in the Baptist church as a youth.
All I wanted that night was my mother. I can see now that I wanted
security and safety. I wanted peace. I told God again, if He would
get me home I would live good, go to church with my mom, mow the grass, wash
dishes, what ever I had to do, I needed some relief.
I had half of the prodigal sons attitude. I was willing to go back
to the home place, but deep inside I wasn't willing to give up the riotous
living.
The Lord did get me back to Dudley Shoals, NC in one piece and I found me
a job at Winn-Dixie.
My life began to change when I was hired at Winn-Dixie Grocery store in Granite
Falls, North Carolina. . My boss made it mandatory that I participate in a
Drug Counseling program offered by the company through the State. I had to
participate in the program to keep my job.
While attending a counseling session I made the comment of maybe trying
church. The counselor told me that church was not the answer to my drug
problem. I didn't know what the answer was but if these people where
against it, I was going to find out why. The next Sunday I found myself
sitting on the back pew of a Baptist Church in Dudley Shoals, NC.
The Night of my Salvation.
The
pastor there was only twenty four and preached with the power of the Holy Ghost. I sat on
the back row fighting off conviction of my sin and wiping the tears from my face as
they streamed down. I couldn't wait to get out of the meeting.
It was the grace of God that guided me back to that church for several
more meetings. A couple visits later I was in the same shape. It felt like the
world was on my shoulders as I felt the weight of sin bearing heavy on my heart.
I sat on the back pew as the choir sang their songs. When the singing was
over and as they came down from the choir loft I couldn't take it anymore.
The conviction of my sin from the Holy Ghost was bearing down on my heart.
The
pastor asked a trio to sing a special song, it was called "I'm Walking A
New Road". I got up from my seat and headed toward the alter. I
don't remember all that was said nor do I remember the prayer the preacher
prayed. As I look back and analyze it now I see the Holy Spirit
through conviction drawing me to surrender. I did surrender to Jesus
that night and made him Lord of my life. Even though I didn't know all
what went on, I got gloriously saved. I knew I was a sinner in need of
salvation. I put my faith in Christ as my only hope of salvation. I
trusted in the shed blood of Jesus that night.
I had a lost friend with me that night that rode to church with me.
My friend cursed and told me I made a fool out of myself. I asked them not to
curse anymore. They replied "what are you? Mr. Holy?"
Well, I
didn't know what I was, but an hour before they could have cursed up a storm and
I would have joined in with them. Now I knew that kind of language was not
right.
The next morning at work waiting to punch in at the punch clock my heart
was beating out of my chest with excitement waiting to tell everyone what
happened. Needless to say no one was enthused about it. They simply
commented that I
would get over it. Well that was December 1989 and I haven't gotten over
it yet. And I don't think I will.
I surrendered to preach four months later on April 1st 1990 and preached
my first message a week later on the radio. A preacher friend of mine
and I preached every Saturday from that time on for a couple years. We also preached
at a homeless shelter every Monday. We passed out tracts throughout the week, went
to every revival meeting we could, protested liquor stores with signs reading
"JESUS SAVES" and anything else we felt led to do.
I enrolled in West Lenoir Bible College in Lenoir, NC graduating after
three years and taking a church in Moore Haven Florida. I pastored there
for four and a half years when the Lord laid on my heart to come to Ireland and
the rest is history in the making.
How God called me to the mission
field:
I
surrendered to preach on April 1st 1990. Four
months after I was born again. I
preached my first message a week later on the radio. A preacher friend of
mine and I preached every Saturday from that time on for a couple years.
We also preached at a homeless shelter every Monday. We passed out tracts
throughout the week, went to every revival meeting we could, protested liquor
stores with signs reading "JESUS SAVES" and anything else we felt led
to do.
I enrolled in West Lenoir Bible College in Lenoir, NC graduating after
three years and taking a church in Moore Haven Florida. I pastored there
for four and a half years when the Lord laid on my heart to be a missionary in
Northern Ireland.
My calling as a pastor in Florida was a blessing and a great learning experience in my life. When we started at the church we were meeting in a fourteen by seventy Fleetwood mobile home. Over the next four and a half years we saw several people saved, become good members of the church, and were able to build a church building on the two acres of land that the church aquired.
As
far as our ministry and calling, I was content.
I felt that was were the Lord was going to keep me for a long time.
However the Lord had different plans for me and my family.
There were several missionaries
that came through our church during 1996 and 1997.
During these meetings the Lord began to deal with me very heavily about
leaving our church. Of course, I
didn’t have any idea or thought about being a missionary. I did begin to pray about what the Lord would have me do.
Did He want me to go back to North Carolina and pastor, did He want me to
go back to my home church and wait on His direction?
I was unsure about His leading, but I was sure that I was seeking His
will.
The more I prayed, the more God
made it clear that I was to go to Northern Ireland and visit a missionary we
supported. That is when all the
puzzle started coming together.
I felt the call to come to Northern Ireland as a missionary in February
of 1997. I informed my church in
June of that year and stayed with them until they found a pastor. It was after this that I went home and started deputation in
January of 1998.
New Hope Baptist Church in Moore
Haven, Florida was established in 1990. The church, like many
churches was the product of a church split. The pastor and several church
members of the First Baptist where caught in immoral affairs and this escalated
into a division in the church over who was to blame, ultimately causing a church
split and the forming of New Hope Baptist Church on the outside of the city
limits of Moore Haven, Florida.
One year after the formation of the church I was contacted through family
relations and asked to preach a trial sermon and candidate for the
pastorate. I was asked to take the position, but at the time
did not feel the move was in order. I still
had one year left in Bible College and was planning on getting married the
following year, I turned the invitation down.
When the first inclination came to my mind to take the church
I had some doubts about the way it started and wondered if it would be the right
thing to get involved with. A dear preacher friend of mine gave me this
advice. He said, "Everybody wants the good churches. The ones
that have all there doctrines squared away and their convictions nailed down
tight." Then he said, "No one wants to take the church that is
going to take a lot of hard work and patience."
This advice sparked my heart and began to burn a flame for the work in
Florida.
In January, 1992 I married Marsha Renee' Perry. She was
the daughter Floyd Perry, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Granite Falls,
NC. This was a local church in the same area I lived in. Three
months after the wedding Marsha and I took off for a two month visit to Buffalo,
Wyoming We were to help in a small mission church
started by Marsha's uncle, Danny Perry, in the town.
It was during this time that God begin to deal with my heart about the small church
in Florida.
One particular day when I had the church in Florida on my mind I called
my Aunt that was a member there. I asked her how things were going and she
said things were fine. They had a new pastor and it looked like a good
situation. I didn't know what to expect when I called, but in my heart I was wanting to hear that the church still needed a pastor.
I would had
offered to come this time.
Knowing the church in Florida was not available I continued helping in the work in Buffalo, Wyoming for
the duration of our stay before
deciding it was time to go back home to North Carolina.
I arrived back in North Carolina
in time to finish the last year at West Lenoir Baptist Bible College where I graduated with an
Associate Degree in Christian Education in the spring of 1993.
Prior to graduation I was contacted by the pulpit committee of New Hope Baptist Church in
Moore Haven, Florida once again. There had been a turn of
events that led to the resignation of their pastor. I was asked to come back for a couple days to discuss taking the
church. There had been few days that went by, since my conversation to
Florida from Wyoming that I had not thought about the church.
When I went back this time I accepted the invitation as pastor, and in April, 1993 stood behind the
pulpit at New Hope Baptist Church in Moore Haven, Florida as their pastor.
During the four and a half years of the ministry at New Hope Baptist
Church we were blessed with the salvation of precious souls.
Nina Wright was the first lady to get saved while I was there. She turned
out to be a true blessing. Then a young couple from town came to know the
Lord, and they where soon followed by a single mother and her children accepting
Christ. Her oldest son being a student in college in Indiana, went back
with a new outlook on life. He joined the Christian group in his school
and soon became involved in Foreign Missions. I will never forget the day
that he came to the alter and said, "I want to be saved." I say,
"It was worth every bit of time, money, effort, and heartache to see these
souls get saved.
Gary
Dotson was basically a town drunk. He didn't sleep in the
gutter of behind a store because he had a truck to sleep in. He would come
by the house crying because he couldn't stop drinking. I would pray for
him and tell him he needed to get saved.
One Wednesday night during the preaching time of the meeting he came
through the church doors and headed straight for the alter. I stopped
preaching and asked everyone to pray. I got down with Gary and we prayed
for the Lord to save him. He was under great conviction and the Lord
graciously birthed him into the family of God. Gary became a new creation
in Christ.
Gary allowed the Lord to work in his life for several months. He
was greatly influenced by his mother, who was a heavy drinker, and soon he was
having a beer after work every now and than. Of course he came to me with
a sorrowful heart for his actions and we went to God together to help Gary get
back on the straight and narrow.
The first time Gary came to my house confessing that he had drank
the day before, I doubted his salvation. I thought to my self, how can any
one drink and be saved. At that very instance the Holy Spirit brought up
several sins in my life that I had been involved in during my salvation that
caused much sorrowing toward repentance to the Lord. Was Gary's sin worse
than my sin? No. He recognized his sin, he wanted to confess his
sin, and God was willing to forgive him his sin. Unfortunately, before I
left New Hope Gary had got completely out of church.
I went back to visit the people
two years later and fellowship with the former church that I pastored. We
arrived early that week and were able to drop by a couple places of interest and
reminisce on our past life in that area. Marsha and I were going through
the check out line at the local grocery store when guess who we saw? It
was Gary Dotson. He saw me, smiled, and walked right over. I said,
"Gary, how you doing?" Before saying a word, he reached down and
took the tape out of his walkman that was secured to his belt. He lifted
it up for me to read the label. Glory be to God, it was a tape of Me and
Marsha singing from three or four years ago. He than informed me that he
had gotten off the bottle and was now serving the Lord. Hallelujah!!
Gary had no idea he would run into me that day. As far as he knew I
was eight hundred miles away in North Carolina. The Lord, however, knew
what an encouragement it would be for me and Marsha to see fruit of our labor
still existing. Praise God.
I was converted at
the age of six. I recall the conviction of God in my life in the first grade.
It was at Tabernacle Christian School in Hickory, North Carolina where my
teacher would ask everyone who was saved to raise their hand.
Every time I raised my hand I knew I wasn’t saved and I felt guilty for
lying. I realized because I was
lying, I was a sinner. I knew that
a sinner had one destination, and that is death and hell.
I had been told that Jesus would forgive me of my sin and save me from
the punishment of the penalty for sin. I
asked the Lord for forgiveness and for His salvation and He forgave me and saved
me. He put a strong desire in my
heart to live for Him that lasted throughout my school years and into my adult
life.
You may ask how all this could have been so vibrant in the mind of such a
young girl, but the bottom line is this: I
was gloriously saved at the age of six and recall the conversion in my mind just
as I was sitting in that classroom today.
We have a wonderful Savior. We have a marvelous Savior.
I was usually embarrassed
to go to the alter because I felt all the people would be looking at me.
But one night I felt the urge to go to the alter because I felt Jesus dealing
with my heart. I
went to the alter and prayed asking Jesus to forgive me for all my sins and to
be my Savior.
I know that Jesus saved me that day and I pray to follow Him throughout
my life.
My favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
A note from
"daddy": When Alyssa got my attention that Sunday morning in
church and asked if she could go to the alter I said yes. When she came
back I asked her what she did and she said she asked Jesus to save her.
She was only a couple months away from five years old and I didn't want to over exaggerate
the conversion nor play it down. Marsha and I decided we would watch her
in her life and always, as with all our children, pray that if they are not
saved that God will deal in their lives leading to their salvation and trust in
Jesus as their only Savior.
I soon found that Alyssa was a young Christian both spiritually and
physically. It has been a privilege to raise her as a father and also disciple
her as a convert in Christ. We pray for God to use her in her life for His
service.
She has shown great discernment for the things of God and to tell you the
truth probably knows more about the word of God then most adults sitting on the
church pew.
Anna
I was saved on April 9th, 2005 at the age of eleven years. On
deputation I had heard my mom give her testimony and say that she was saved at
the age of six. I wanted to be like my momma so I started telling
everybody that I was saved a t eh age of six.
While we were in the United States on furlough during 2004 and 2005 my family was having devotions one Saturday night when my brother got saved. I knew that I wasn't saved, but I didn't want anyone to know that I had lied. So I put it off. Well, I was sitting their the night of devotions wishing that my dad would just hurry up and finish so that maybe tyhe Holy Ghost would just leave me alone. Then my dad asked all of us if we were sure of our salvation. When he came to me I couldn't say anything. Then I decided just to tell him I knew I was saved but having a few doubts. It was then that the Holy Ghost really worked on me. Daddy said, "Well, if your salvation is real then I know that God will bring you out of your doubt." Then he asked me , "Are you sure that your are saved, Anna?" It was then that I broke down and confessed that I had never been saved. Dad asked me if I wanted him to pray with me, I told him I could pray to God my self. I knelt down and asked the Lord to save me and He did.
Amber
My daddy was preaching a revival in Statesville, NC during the month of
September, 2004. At the end of one of the message an invitation was
given. God was dealing with me that I was lost. I went to the alter
to pray for the Lord to save me. My daddy came beside me and asked if he
could pray with me. I told him I had been lying. He said,
"Well, let's pray for the Lord to forgive you, and from now on try to keep
from lying and doing things against God." I said, "Daddy, I
don't mean I have been lying like that, I mean I have been lying to you and
everyone telling you that I was saved, I need to get saved."
He prayed with me, and I prayed for the Lord to save me that night.
I want to thank the Lord for saving me and giving me a Christian Family.
Austin