I have accepted JESUS CHRIST into my life! I have made the decision to turn my life over to GOD and in accordance with God’s commandment’s, I was baptized before Him on November 6, 2011.

I have “believed in God” throughout my entire life, however I have only recently come to terms with the fact that HE has always been with me. I did not grow up attending church and was not raised in a faith-based environment. I was raised with what I would consider a “general knowledge” of who GOD was and instilled with a strong sense of right and wrong.

From a very young age, I remember being compelled to go to church with my friends. I would go for a short amount of time, but eventually I would stop going. When I was in my early teens, I began attending a church that some family friends would infrequently attend. I joined the church and the youth choir and regularly attended church. At the time, I did because it felt like it’s "what I should be doing."

The rest of my family was not attending church on a regular basis. They would come on a special occasion or sometimes when I was singing in the choir, but I was the only one who was regularly attending church. Now while I was learning more about God than I had known before and had more of a relationship with HIM while being a part of that church, I lived a life of willful sin and never fully turned my life over to GOD. I was not living the life that GOD wanted me to live and I knew it, even at that young age.

When I reflect on my life and what “brought me to Christ,” I realize that God has been calling me to Him my entire life. GOD has been making it clear to me that He wants me to accept Him into my heart, and live my life to serve and glorify HIM. I have known it, I have felt it and I have chosen to ignore it for the most part for all these years. Still, God continued to bless me as I ignored his calling.

When I was 18 I met the woman who would be my wife. A year later we were married shortly thereafter, our first child was born. We were barely 20 years old, married with a child without a plan or direction. Or so I thought... God had blessed me with a family at that young age to save me from the path that I was going down. Because my parents had instilled a strong work ethic, a sense of familial responsibility and provided an excellent model of what it meant to be a parent, I was changed for the better. I was living much more of the life that God wanted but nowhere near what I should.

Still God was there, granting me blessings, providing me with what I needed, giving me strength and perspective. I think back about how unworthy I was; not that I was living a horrible life as a terrible person but that God gave me so much and still I did not trust in Him, would not accept Him and would not live for Him. Even in the darkest times of my life, God was there, reaching out. He would try to reach me through message in a sermon during one of my infrequent visits to church, or a friend who found me wallowing in depression and grabbed my hands to pray aloud…

I had not been faithful to the God who had blessed and kept me all of my life, watched over my family and given me all that I needed. Not only did God continue to bless me, He continued to call to me to serve and glorify him; what an AMAZING GOD! Who but God would be so faithful to someone who he had given so much and gave him nothing in return? That’s how I know he loves me, regardless of my sins or the fact that I was too stubborn and prideful to turn my life and heart over to Him.

Still God called to me! One day during a casual conversation with a friend, she mentioned that she had attended a church and that she thought that we would enjoy it. That would prove to be an understatement. My wife was the first of us to attend City Church; I did not attend that Sunday because I had a lot of work to do. I could have gone but that was me, ignoring God’s call yet again. When I did attend the following Sunday, I instantly felt at home. Everything from the people, to the pastor, to the message, to the music filled my heart with a sense that this is where I should be and that this is what I should be doing. I can only describe what followed was a “Tidal wave of faith” washing over me.

The desire to have a relationship with God and to live the life that He had always wanted me to live surged through my soul like a lightning bolt. I felt like God had put me in a place where I could no longer ignore what He was calling me to do. I would praise and worship Him; I would serve, glorify and not only accept God into my life but make Him the center of it. I know now that only through Christ can I be the man, husband, father and servant that He has intended for me to be. Only through Him can lead my family into a way of life with God at the center.

I am truly thankful that God has been so faithful to me, even when I was not faithful to Him. I have resolved to dedicate my life to God and to do my best to accept His will and serve Him. I have made the decision to be baptized as a public declaration of my faith and dedication to a life centered in Christ.

-Bill

My best friend, Shandi, singing, skating rinks, youth group all-nighters…of course I would go! But I had no idea what it truly meant to follow the Lord. So when Shandi moved away I was without friends and without influence to continue attending church.

At 15 years old, I was just beginning to find God’s love when my first boyfriend, an atheist, came into my life and caused me to question everything I had learned about the Lord. I was quickly convinced that there was nothing beyond myself. I lived selfishly, believing I lived as a body, I was to carry all burdens on my earthly shoulders, and I died as a body. For almost 10 years I lived this way, running from the brokenness in my home, working relentlessly to be sure I would never end up like the shattered alcoholic mother and father I had been born to. I was driven by dreams of money and great “success“, convinced that these were happiness. The determination for these dreams was fueled by all of the pain, depression and anxiety I carried and always having something to run from. Countless tears, hours of therapy, cuts across my arms, and medications, nothing was easing the pain. I had accomplished so much for my career by the time that I was 21, it was everything I wanted, so why was I so unhappy?

Things got better for me after that relationship with my first boyfriend finally ended after 6 years. I was off the medications, I was smiling again, loving my work and my new life on my own. But now I had to deal with the longing I felt for companionship. I had no friends and I had never felt like I could relate to anyone. I began looking for comfort and companionship in all the wrong places. Until one night in September 2009 the wrong place couldn’t have been more right. I met my soul mate Randy and for the first time, experienced unconditional love. This kind of love was foreign to me and when things got serious the anxiety began to creep back into my life. I was questioning everything again and was unable to trust. Even though I had found an incredible love, there was still a hole in my heart.

In the midst of my own trials, on January of 2011 I got a call from my sister that my Dad had fallen and hit his head. He was in a coma. He had struggled for many years with severe alcohol and drug addiction, and we knew he was in bad shape, but the news still hit hard. Some months before all of this my little sister who was living with my drug addicted Dad and Step Mom was taken to Pennsylvania by my older step sister and given the opportunity to begin a new childhood and a relationship with the Lord.

Aside from my ongoing struggles with my family, life was going good. I had a wonderful relationship, the career I had worked so hard to get, hobbies and goals, but the anxiety was escalating, it was affecting all of these important things in my life. I was determined to be perfect in every area in my life and not let the pain show through. My shoulders were so heavy and my body was weak. I couldn’t trust, I felt lost and I became convinced I was meant to live life alone. I knew what it was that I wanted for my life, but I had no idea how feel the love and happiness that should have been spilling from my soul. I gave notice at my job because I couldn’t handle the additional stress and demands that it put on me and stay balanced mentally. Being an atheist, the last thing I imagined doing was turning to God.

One day after work I was so tormented by my own mind that I fell to my knees and cried out in desperation for God. I had heard so many stories about Him lifting people up and them feeling His presence but I felt nothing. I was reassured in my disbeliefs when God didn’t help…or so I thought. Looking back, I can see how slowly, he began to put it on my heart to reach out to him. Although I didn’t feel like He was there, for some reason I continued to cry out to him. Randy has been a devout Christian for much of his life, but he never once pushed his beliefs on me. So I came to him one night and asked him why God wouldn’t help me. He explained simply and with such wisdom and without judgment, “It doesn’t really work like that. You have to be adopted by God. If a strange child came to our door asking for help, we would be apprehensive. If our own child came to us for help, we wouldn’t hesitate.” While he further explained and prepared us to watch The Gospel of John together I unknowingly grabbed a snack of bread and grapes and he just laughed and explained the sacrament. Our spirits bonded that night and it was the beginning of my walk with Jesus.

We began looking for churches and tried several Calvary Chapels before we found City Church. We had been to shows at Chain Reaction and felt comfortable with the venue and we were so excited to see people our own age, all so welcoming to anyone with Jesus in their heart. We were overjoyed to hear Pastor Kyle speak with a sense of humor, relatable stories, and parallels to life. We knew we had found the right place and started to get plugged in immediately. Randy and I, who live together, have even made the difficult decision to live apart until we are married and completely devote our relationship to the Lord.

On October 31, 2011, the day after my 24th birthday and only days after I felt an unbreakable bond with Jesus, my Dad passed away after almost a year in the hospital. Before the Lord took my earthly father home he made sure that his daughters were safe in the arms of the heavenly Father. What a beautiful gift I have received from God. I will cherish that forever and never will I turn from His love again.

Looking back I can see that though I turned away from the Lord, he never turned from me. He has carried me through life and blessed me all along the way but I was in pain because I was without His love in my heart. And so, in October 2011 I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I am still a very new Christian but after experiencing the love that He has already shown me I am prepared to dedicate my entirety to the Glory of the Lord. He is helping me fight the pain and heal my heart and I am prepared to walk with Him forevermore.

Dear City Church,

We are super excited about our baptism service this Sunday November 6th and we have a BIG CHANGE OF PLANS to announce.

Our desire is to allow as many people as possible to attend our baptism. To do that, we feel it needs to happen right at Chain Reaction where we hold our service every week. By doing the baptism right at Chain Reaction, it allows our whole church to celebrate your public commitment to Jesus together AND it allows you to easily invite your friends.

1. "I'm a type "A," what's "the plan"? We will do our service as usual (a bit shorter though) to accommodate. Immediately after the service, all of us will walk outside to what is known as "smoker's alley" where we will put a baptismal pool (it's better than a kiddy-pool) and celebrate what God is doing.

2. How can I invite my friends and family? All your friends and family will need to know is come to our normal service time (10:30am). Holding a baptism at Chain Reaction might sound a bit crazy, but we have a plan in place to make it happen. The address for Chain Reaction is 1652 W. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim CA 92801.

3. QUESTIONS? Email Lisa@LoveHopeCity.com directly.

This is a an awesome opportunity for our church, so please tell all your friends to come!

In Christ,

Pastor "Excited to get wet" Kyle

Nick Vujicic Speaks at City Church Sunday October 9th.

Who is Nick? Nick is a man born without arms and legs who travels the world sharing his story of hope and inspiration despite devastating circumstances. There are tons of great videos about Nick on his website LifeWithoutLimbs.org. WATCH THEM!

Why should I come? You should come and bring a friend or two for several reasons. First, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear from Nick speak in an intimate context (he normally fills stadiums). Second, you should come because you will leave with a profound sense of hope and inspiration for your life as a result. Third, he's really funny. Fourth... there are a million more reasons, but that is plenty!

SPECIAL SERVICE TIMES - 9am & 11am.

We want to make room for EVERYONE who wants to attend; so for one week only City Church will have two identical services on Sunday October 9th at 9am and 11am. Feel free to attend whichever suits your calendar best. There will be free Krispy Kreme donuts for the first 100 people that attend the first service.