Not Without You

It’s Personal

By Tahni Cullen, Communication Strategist

I remember attending a service several months ago at EBC where the “cardboard testimonies” were featured on the platform. I was so moved. In just a few words scribbled on a box with a Sharpie, person after person displayed evidence of changes in their life. On one side of the cardboard, the “befores” gripped me and then with a flip of the wrist, the “afters” ushered in hope. Lost > Found. Suffered Several Miscarriages > Soon to Be Parents. Nearing Divorce > Restored Marriage. This event reaffirmed for me that truly God is in the business of fixing broken things, and that the local Church really can be the hope of the world.

I get the privilege of being on staff and seeing a number of “MyStories” that are submitted through our website. We get an opportunity to feature some in print or during a weekend service, but I wish you could see all of the stories that come through. Truly, everyone has a story to tell. Some are ones of radical transformation, even from atheism to faith in God. A few are people that are still questioning but are just curious enough to allow God to take them on a new journey. A number are about how that one invitation they got come to church has changed everything for them. One thing is for sure, though. God is doing something through the people and the ministry of Eagle Brook Church. And it starts on a very personal level.

So, next time you look out at a sea of faces in the chairs, know that if you’re invested in the ministry at EBC, you are offering God an avenue to change people’s life stories. Stories like these:

“I grew up in a home where we never went to church… Now, I’m in the seventh grade and I attend with my mom on the weekend, plus I go to Ground Zero and volunteer in Kid-O-Deo. Ever since I let God into my life, I now have joy, peace, a purpose–things I realize I had never really felt before.”

“Even though I grew up in a Christian family, it was as if my faith was a show for my parents and I started growing apart from God… For the first time in years I decided to attend church voluntarily, and that church was Eagle Brook. It was as if God was speaking directly to me through the worship, the pastors, and the welcoming people at Eagle Brook. I now am walking with the Lord and have learned to trust in him always.”

“I have been one of those people that has had a Bible but hasn’t really read it. However, I now find myself reading the Bible and I am starting to actually understand it. If my wife and I had not started to attend EBC in Feb 2007, I am quite sure my Bible would still be on the shelf.”

“I never realized until I started going to Eagle Brook that I needed to work at my relationship with Jesus Christ. Since I’ve done that I have seen great strides in my relationship with my husband and know that I couldn’t have done it without the Lord at my side. I was to the point where I thought maybe divorce was the only answer. We have been able to rekindle what was there 28 years ago.”

Throughout the fall, we will be spotlighting many more personal stories in a variety of ways. Check back right here on the Not Without You website often, because there are going to be multiple avenues to explore how God is working in people’s lives here at EBC!

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