Testimony Speaker: I just want to thank Falls Baptist Church, first of all.

You guys take us in as a family.

Even though we’re not at our local home church, I live 17 hours from here, but you all have been as close to me as my home church, and that just blessed my heart that you guys welcome us in as one of your own.

And I guess there’s a lot of things that I’ve learned at this college, but to put it in short, last year I came in poor.

I lived here poor, and I’m still poor.

But I remember last year I had $3,000 that I had to pay to the school. and so I got back and I started working real early in the morning to make as much money as I could and I was just going to go home because I didn’t have the finances and I remember Dr.

Jim caught me out here in the lobby and he said Garrett I just want you to know that you know if if you know it’s God’s will for you to go home I’m fine with that but he’s like if you go home and you don’t know it’s God’s will you’re going to hurt your faith and he’s like I’m going to encourage you to Go over to your dorm and get on your knees.

You need to talk to God.

So anyways, I went over there, and I’m discouraged because $3,000 is a lot.

And I remember I got on my knees and I started praying.

I went to Psalm 37 for delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desire of thine heart.

And I praise the Lord that we have a God that loves to give us what we delight in, as long as it’s in line with his word.

And I wanted to be here.

I just didn’t see how I could stay here.

Anyways, I just started praying, talking to God, did the hour, started singing.

And about an hour and a half into wrestling with God, I felt like Jacob, wrestling with God.

God, I’ve got to know your will.

God said, you’ve got it.

The money, you’re going to stay here.

And so I thanked him for the victory.

I had no money.

I didn’t have the money.

But I said, God, I’m going to thank you for the victory that you gave me.

And about two minutes later, a friend, he’s actually in this room right now, he came and he handed me a $100 bill.

I got a token of good.

And Pastor Schultz had earlier challenged me, ask God for a token of good.

And I got it.

And so immediately I just said, thanks, God.

And I stood up and I came over to the school and I said, Pastor Schultz, I got my token of good.

And he started talking to me and some folks that actually gave to my school bill.

And God had paid my school bill before I even claimed it. and the one thing I learned, the most important thing I learned here at Baptist College of Ministry is that you can get a hold of God and you can find his will for your life always, at every time, because God wants us to know what his will is for our life.

Speaker 3: Good.

Amen.

Somebody else.

Testimony Speaker: When I was in high school, I prayed to the Lord and I told him that I’d do whatever he wanted me to do if I could just know him, and it wasn’t long before I ended up here, And I didn’t necessarily want to come to America.

It wasn’t what I might have chosen.

But it just amazed me that when I surrendered everything to him, at first it felt like I was losing everything, but then he gives you himself, and you find out what Jesus is like, and there’s no other way to do that.

And when I came here, it just amazed me also how he would take me on a spiritual journey just as he was taking the church on it.

And I’m so thankful just for the time to be a part of the church and the different things.

I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I would have missed out on everything he taught me here about just walking with him, about praying, about soul winning, things I took in classes, and then I was actually able to have experience joining you all in the church, and it was such a privilege for me to spend these years here.

Speaker 3: All right, somebody else.

Testimony Speaker: When I came in as a 19-year-old freshman, I was very different than who I am today.

And I think the greatest thing of what God has done in my heart in BCM is just that fact, that it’s completely different than who I was when I came in.

My desire was to be anywhere but here and to do anything but serve the Lord.

And yet two deacons had a little faith in me, Brother Crowick and Brother Stahl, and not sure what they saw, but they saw something the Lord was trying to do.

And Dr.

Jim preached, John Barber counseled me, and finally I said, okay, Lord, I’m done fighting.

And that phrase right there has probably been the flagship for me, is to stop fighting God all along the way.

And as I look back over who I was seven years ago, all I can say is, God, thank you for rescuing me, because I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for that.

And I will never be that again, by God’s grace.

And I want to thank the Lord for calling me, counting me faithful, and putting me in the ministry, Because truly that is the best thing about Jesus.

And the best thing about being here is I’m not who I was before.

Speaker 3: Amen.

Testimony Speaker: The Lord has taught me so many things being here.

But one of the things he’s taught me is he’s really strengthened my faith in the power of the gospel.

To work and to save souls no matter the culture or the strongholds.

And another thing is that just the pressures or the trials in everyday life.

As well as in the challenges in ministry.

Just the truth that the Holy Spirit lives inside me, and so his power and his victory is readily accessible at any time.

And I know that God wants me to live with that truth in mind the rest of my life.

Testimony Speaker: Amen.

First off, I’d just like to echo what Gareth said.

The four years I’ve been here, I haven’t been home for a summer, and I’ve spent most of my breaks here.

So in a real way, this has been my church.

In a real way, a lot of you have been my family.

I know a lot of college students come through here, And you guys aren’t obligated to take your personal interest, but I know from the very first Sunday I was here, so many of you took a very personal interest in me.

And I don’t know how I put that into words, how thankful I am to each one of you who took a personal interest in me.

And I know I want to go home this summer and I miss you all as my church family.

Let’s say the biggest thing since being here is just the simple fact of learning that God can.

And I would have said that when I came in.

Of course, God can do anything. but I don’t know if I really believed what I was saying.

My life certainly didn’t show it but just through the years I’ve been here just over and over and over God proving himself that he can whether it’s as I’ve been testified using me and soul winning tonight we’re not teen soul winning and I talked to someone for 20 minutes of the gospel and coming in as a freshman I would have said that was an impossible thing for me to do but the Lord can do that and just going through getting the bus and with the land I was probably the biggest doubter out of anyone.

You know, I knew, I would have said God can do it, but I didn’t think God would do it here or for me or I could see it.

But just seeing that God can, and just with the emphasis of prayer and the emphasis of the Holy Spirit working in each one of our lives and just knowing that I serve a God who can.

And what it says on the bus that we parked out there, more than a college, a cause.

Just learning how true that is.

And from day one, coming in and having the prayer class and having someone in class, everything is focused on the cause.

And just the challenge that this church has been and partnering with the college in that cause has been a blessing to me.

Testimony Speaker: This kind of goes a little bit along with what Brendan was saying.

But one of the biggest things for me in the four years that I’ve been here is to learn to expect from God and to have a divine optimism.

I remember Friday morning within the first two nights, really the first 18 hours that I’d been here, pastor getting up, giving his burden to the college for the year, and just giving us a little survey of what was going on in our world.

And it was so different from everything I’ve always heard.

It was not all the negativity.

It was everything God was doing in our world.

And throughout four years of college, I can say that that’s been the biggest change in my life.

It’s going out into a ministry and expecting God to do something.

There’s no defeatist mentality.

There’s no fatalism.

God is on the move.

And as I go to him in prayer, as we’ve learned about, and as I cleanse my heart and live the Christ life and the Christ walk, I can expect God to use me.

Testimony Speaker: Good.

Amen.

Speaker 3: Oh, yes, go ahead.

Testimony Speaker: I honestly can’t thank this college and this church enough for just all that they have invested.

And in coming here, it really has been something that I knew God’s word.

I grew up reading it.

But I wouldn’t say it was personal until coming here and learning through the opportunities here.

And there’s a lot of opportunities here.

I mean, this week we’re going to be singing in a concert.

And when I was young, I didn’t even know who Brahms was.

But to have those opportunities, but through all of those opportunities, I was always pointed to Christ.

And through the relationships here, through the vision that was here.

And it’s just been neat how I knew that my purpose in life was to point others to Christ.

But while being here, I feel like that’s what I’ve been, always pointed to Christ through the opportunities that have been given, through the messages, my personal life of just growth through devotions, and even through the vision here that pastor has had.

It’s always pointed me to Christ.

And it’s taught me that now I don’t just know the Bible, but I feel like I can live it.

I feel like it is something that is living, and it’s given me a confidence to serve him, and through being here, to point others to Christ.

Amen.

Any of you ladies want to speak?

Testimony Speaker: Well, when I came to BCM, I would say that I wanted to be surrendered, and I was kind of there, but I was scared of God’s will.

And I don’t think it was a sudden, big moment, But as I got to know my God and began to realize who he was and who he was to me and realized that my God is good all the time and he’s faithful and he’s loving and he’s mercy.

And it came to the point where it was, I wasn’t scared of his will anymore and I knew that I wanted to do it.

And it actually got to the point where I was scared to not do his will because just when I did give that to him, just the light that came.

And where there was darkness before, there was light.

And when there was turmoil and fear, there was peace.

And just knowing that I could follow him.

And so now it’s so exciting just seeing what he’s done and what he’s going to do just so abundantly above.

I’m so, so excited to serve him that I get to do that and excited to see what he’s going to do.

Speaker 3: Amen.

Testimony Speaker: I remember being in high school and when I started getting to know BCM, I’m reading a brochure that talked about all these different aspects of BCM and seeing one of them was your faith growth exceedingly.

They had that verse in there, and I didn’t really understand what that meant.

It sounded good.

And as I look back now, I think that really is one of the key things that God has done in my life, and I understand more what that really means.

Just my faith in God in so many different areas, whether it’s soul winning or ministry.

I don’t even know what my future holds, but I know I’m not leaving with a list of rules or just a good degree.

I’m leaving with a person, Jesus, and I can know him, and I can go to him every day, and I know that he will continue to lead and guide me.

That’s the greatest treasure that I could have received here.

Speaker 3: Amen.

Okay, I’m going to come back to you on this side.

I just want to give this side a fair shot.

Oh, go ahead.

Testimony Speaker: One of the biggest things that I’ve learned here is that my anchor holds.

And it’s hard to know where to start because I could go way back or I could start yesterday.

And there’s always new things the Lord is teaching you when you’re here, especially in the academic setting, practically and also spiritually.

But I would say one key point for me was actually before I came to college, I visited for a Victory Conference.

And the reason that I am attending BCM right now is not because of the college.

It’s because of you.

And I was so impacted by the people that I met at the Victory Conference that year.

And I said, I want that.

I want what they have.

I want that for me.

Because I was groping for a purpose in my life.

I thought, I have talents, right?

That’s enough to live for.

I have experiences.

I have personality or whatever.

I was just groping for things to live for.

And it wasn’t until I came to BCM that I learned to give the gospel.

And I found a purpose to live for.

And there’s been many experiences that different things, practical things, character issues, relationships, learning to love people, love lost people, to love Christian people, to love in the dorm, to love in your ministry.

But I would say that is the biggest theme my anchor holds.

So I’m grateful to you as Falls Baptist Church for your support and opportunities you’ve given me to trust the Lord and to take steps forward.

Speaker 3: Amen.

Testimony Speaker: Coming in, I did not want to be here, and everything in me, I just tried to escape reality, and I didn’t want to face who I was because I hated who I was, and so I tried to change who I was in kind of this not real world.

And coming in as a freshman, I was faced in daily chapels and just people around me, truth and reality of a real God.

And I didn’t want it at first.

I just wanted to escape again.

And after my first semester, I was like, I’m done.

I’m done with this.

And then I’m so thankful for people who stepped in that Christmas break and just said, no, you got to finish, at least finish the next semester, come back for the next semester, finish your freshman year.

So I did.

And after that, I was like, well, I can finish one more year.

And it was in my sophomore year that I really came to the end of myself, and I said, you know what?

I’m going to give this Christ life thing a try.

And I said, all right, God, you can prove yourself to me.

If you’re real, then I want what’s real.

And I don’t want something that’s just fake, because I don’t want to just escape my whole life.

I don’t want to keep running away.

And so throughout the next couple years, the Lord just really showed me who he was, and that he was real, and what is real, and that I can live a real life, and I don’t have to run away from my problems, and I don’t have to run away from who I am, because who I am is Christ.

Jesus Christ is who I am.

His life is who I am.

And I can claim that, and I can live that life, and I don’t have to be ashamed of that.

And I can honestly say that I am all in for always.

Testimony Speaker: Amen.

One of the biggest things I learned coming in was that God, since I’ve been here, that God could use me, that God wanted to use me, that God could be glorified through my life.

Before I came in, I was very defeated, and part of the reason there were many factors I didn’t want to come to BCM was that I couldn’t measure out to everybody here.

And now I know that nobody can because it’s a spiritual life.

And that’s one of the things I’ve learned is that Psalm 1611 says, Thou wilt show me the path of life, and thy presence is fullness of joy.

At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

And, you know, God wants to use me because he knows I can’t do it.

And he knows, no, I can’t do it.

And through all the experiences here, through all the hardships and demerits and everything, degree of focus, everything I’ve been through, you know, I can say I can have joy.

And I can have, there’s pleasures because of it.

And the thing that goes along with it is that obedience is the big thing.

You know, unless I obey Jesus, nothing else is going to work.

And so I can say that I have joy right now because each day I can say, there’s Jesus, and Jesus wants to use me, and all I have to do is say yes.

Good.

Testimony Speaker: One of the biggest things that God has done in my life while I’ve been here has been seeing the vision for the world and seeing how God can work, not just in other places, but also here.

And the combination of the potential that God wants to do in the world today and what God’s doing here now is powerful.

And one of the things that pastor has always talked about is just the potential that’s in a classroom. the potential that is sitting in the chairs of what god can use each person to do is powerful and over the six years that i’ve been here just seeing god work through my life in my life changing me but also seeing the the formulation really of the vision of what god can do in this world has been one one of the biggest things that i’m going to take away from here and i’m thankful to each of you the church really because it’s not just a college thing it’s a church it’s moving forward.

It’s looking to reach other people.

It’s moving forward in our personal lives so that we

Testimony Speaker: can reach the world, and I praise God for that.

Well, my undergrad years, probably the biggest thing that God did in my life was sharpen my vision of what he was calling me to.

I knew coming into my college years that God had called me to be a missionary, but there were several classes and experiences that God used to really sharpen the vision of what it is he’s called me to, of planting churches and seeing them reproduce, as many of you are familiar with, as we hear that here as well.

In seminary, the Lord really sharpened the tools that he began to give me in college and gave me more of them by studying deeper into the Word of God.

And I am so thankful for a place where we can look into God’s Word and we can read a lot of other books about how man tries to explain the miracles and the events in God’s Word, and yet we are challenged every day to take God’s word by faith and to know our God.

Yes, my faith was grown in my college years.

If I could put it this way, in my undergrad years, my faith was grown by experience.

In my seminary years, my faith was grown by simply looking at the word of God.

And I feel like both are necessary.

And I’m so thankful that God has allowed me to go all the way through these six years in both undergrad and seminary to learn.

And I am so thankful too because I know I’m a staff kid here at Falls Baptist Church, which I am very thankful for.

And maybe it could be expected that I would do this, that I would come here.

I understand that.

That’s fine.

But I can just say this, that I am so thankful that God put me in this place.

I didn’t choose to be here.

God chose me to be here, and I am so thankful for that.

Testimony Speaker: The Bible says, faithful, see that calleth you who also will do it. 20 years ago, the Lord called my family from Mexico all the way over here to this church.

And in that journey of faith, those 20 years, and in my life, in my time here in Baptist College of Ministry and Baptist Theological Seminary, the Lord has showed me what he starts, he will finish.

As I live by humble dependence on him, as I allow him to break me, and as I just take simple steps of faith, the Lord always finishes what he starts.

Good.

Testimony Speaker: Honestly, even just listening to the other testimonies, so much of that, I just echo the same exact thing.

But honestly, today in chapel, Dr.

Jim preached about trusting God.

At least when I was listening, that’s what just kept coming out to me was just trusting God.

And how over the last four years, the fact that I can always trust God in every single situation, every class, every project, every little thing that comes up, whether I felt like it wasn’t fair because someone didn’t tell me, and yet so many times it came back to my own character issue.

And sometimes it was just a miscommunication, but every single time, whether it was my fault or it was just an accident, I knew I could always go back and trust the Lord.

And it’s one of those things where it’s always living past my feelings. and believing God for what he says.

And just the importance of being grounded in the word and being grounded in truth has, I mean, I knew it was important before I came, but now I’m so confident of it that I know that if I get off of that, I’m going to be, I don’t know where I will be if I don’t stay grounded in God’s word.

Speaker 3: Amen.

Okay.

Testimony Speaker: Okay, Jonathan.

Coming in five years ago, I was surrendered to whatever God had for my life.

But throughout my first year, I realized more and more that I had many personal weaknesses, many personal shortfallings that I realized I’m not really cut out for ministry.

I can’t do this because I’m not that kind of a guy.

And so at the end of my freshman year, I decided to change my degree to an associate’s degree.

I turned from doing whatever God wanted me to do, and then I decided to go ahead and change my philosophy of God to one that I could kind of fit God into my box and do whatever I wanted him to do. but at the end of my associate’s degree I was asked to travel with Cold Clash ministry and throughout that summer God showed me that it’s not in spite of my weakness or because of my weakness that I can’t be used but it’s because of my own weakness that God wants to use me and the very fact that I can’t do God’s will is why it’s God’s will for me and that’s because whenever I can’t do God’s will it’s because only God can do it through me and throughout my whole time here at BCM whether it’s in a class or paying for a school bill or finding a life’s mate, whatever it is, I can’t come up with a good enough plan or the strength to do God’s will for me.

All I can do is rely on him and look to him to work his will in my life.

And that’s the best thing about it is that when God works his will, it’s better than anything I could have done anyway.

And I’m just so blessed and so overwhelmed with God’s goodness and putting me in a place where I could learn his will that was greater than anything I could have come up with for myself.

Amen.

Testimony Speaker: Well, as I look over my college years, one theme I see throughout is just how God has done the impossible.

And I remember starting out as a little freshman, everything that came my way seemed impossible.

And it really started to click when I was in a prayer class with Pastor Gilmore.

And they gave us a little prayer journal to fill out.

And one of the categories was things that you were going to thank God that he was going to do that were impossible.

And I recently was looking over that and just looking at all the things that God had done, just from even that list of the impossible I’d seen in my life.

And just all throughout college, there’s impossibilities hit you all the time.

You see a test.

You see a schedule that you do not know how is going to happen.

You see just seeing people through to victory, whether it’s your Sunday school class or just anything like that.

And just seeing the Lord do impossible in each of those situations, not just letting you escape from the possibilities, but delivering you right where you’re at.

And also, as Brenda was saying, just seeing how the Lord has done so much, even through the bus and the land, and just tremendously encouraging my faith.

Whenever I even see something impossible, just looking back at that and see, like, God has done that.

What he can do is so much more, even in my own life.

And so just encourage me as I set out and after college that he can do the impossible, and he will do that in and through my life in the years ahead.

Speaker 3: Go ahead.

Okay.

Testimony Speaker: Well, I was born and grew up here my whole life, and I’ve heard so many good truths from pastors preaching.

And I was so excited to come to BCM because I was like, I’m going to learn more about prayer.

I was so thrilled.

But throughout a lot of my college years, I would have victory.

I would see the Lord work, and I was so excited.

And then I wouldn’t be able to keep it up, like keep walking with the Lord.

And it was just so frustrating to me.

I was like, this is supposed to be consistent.

I’m supposed to be consistently walking with God.

And what’s wrong?

Why can I not do this?

And there was a message Billy Ingram preached in chapel.

And he said that we’re nobody from nowhere with nothing.

And he said, I’m crucified with Christ.

Nevertheless, I live what Christ loveth in me. and it’s not me.

I’m dead and I can never walk with God the way I’m supposed to but he’s the one that does it and it was so encouraging just to realize I don’t have to do anything.

I just have to have that heart to follow God and God’s going to do it in me.

It was so freeing and it’s awesome to do the will of God and see him use you and know it’s not you.

Amen.

At the beginning of freshman

Testimony Speaker: year all of the freshmen go over to pastor’s house for the picnic and we were asked to answer the question, what do you want to see God do in your life?

And I gave Proverbs 29, 18, which says, where there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law happy is he.

And I really wanted to see God give me a vision and also learn how to keep the law and be happy.

And as I look back, that’s something that the Lord has answered that prayer since my time here at BCM, because I’ve been taught to obey, not just to conform, but because I love Jesus.

And through that, the Lord has really given a vision that belongs to Him.