City Life Starter

I. The Word: Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have  commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Jesus

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Do you remember the moment where you were reached by someone with the Gospel?
2. Do you remember the moment you gave your life to the Lord?
3. Consider Jesus’ words, and think how you have either been discipled by someone or if you’re actively being on mission with Jesus’ great commission to all believers.

The referenced scripture is one that Every Nation has truly taken the onus of, as should all believers. It has become an integral part of everything we do, every ministry formed, every action taken. We go! We Disciple! There is the action of being on the mission, and there is the action of making disciples. Now, you can read all about Every Nation’s method of how we do this and the underlying principles of discipleship. I won’t get it to all of that, but simply share how through the active faith of believers being sold out for Jesus with The Great Commission, that I was reached on the College Campus, which began a life-changing journey. The College Campus is a place where Every Nation is truly passionate about reaching our future leaders, and how it fulfills its vision.

During my senior year in college, I was in a confused state, not knowing what I was going to do with my life, unsure of where God wanted me, what He wanted of me, so I just kind of felt like God was a little distant at the time and I was not doing a lot to close the gap. Now, I believed in God alright and knew the Biblical things to say and could quote scripture, but I wasn’t truly living that truth out, and just kind of did things I wanted to do. I had issues of lust after women, loved getting attention from them and dating them, and had a porn addiction, and my last year of college was a struggle academically. I was dealing with a lot of frustration, daddy issues, and stress that I was unable to express to anyone. Inside I was rotting, but outwardly, everyone thought I was thriving. The vulnerability was something I was deathly afraid of. I was the golden child of my family and could do no wrong. I had a reputation to maintain and did not want anyone to see me any other way.

My college years were the loneliest years of my life, even though I had friends, women, and supportive family.  I was alone because the things that mattered and that kept me up at night were things I closed so tightly inside that I felt like I would die if I let them out. Yet, indeed, I was dying still spiritually. One day, in October of 2010, as I was on my way to meet up with a girl for a quick lunch date, two men on the University of Houston campus stopped me and asked if I wouldn’t mind answering a few questions. Now, this was different. Usually, people that stop you want to do the talking. Instead, they wanted me to do the talking as they listened. I was in a hurry to get to this date, and really did not want to stop, but something inside of me arrested me in my haste, and I stood there answering question after question about my belief in God, life, heaven and hell, and such things. I thought after those questions that I was probably the most enlightened person they had ever met.

Once the questions were done and I felt convinced that I had knocked it out of the park and was good with my salvation and Biblical understanding of such concepts, one of the young gentlemen kindly asked me if he could share his thoughts. And oh, man, I sat there sinking in my self-righteousness and realized I had missed the mark on just about everything I thought about these questions. The slap in the face was real, the conviction was real, and I said to myself, “Who is this guy?”

The young men introduced themselves as Chris Pate and Peter Dusan. Chris mentioned he was the lead pastor of City Life Church, a newly planted church in Houston, and mentioned another outreach event happening that evening where they were giving away a free iPad. I was shocked because these guys were so young, yet full of astonishing wisdom, which could only be from God. I knew right away these men were the real deal, authentic, and passionate about God. I wanted that more than anything.

I went to the event that evening and heard a man by the name of Rice Broocks address this huge body of students. Rice Broocks is one of the founders of Every Nation. I sat on the front row because something was tugging at my heart with this ministry. I felt like God had awoken something in me that night. I knew I needed to get involved in whatever this ministry was as I had never heard the Gospel presented in such a manner. I had never walked away feeling so convicted in my life, yet so in awe of God at the same time.

I quickly got connected with City Life Church, started attending, and each Sunday I was being body slammed by Chris Pate and his preaching. He was doing a series on the Song of Solomon which challenged me in the very thing I had the most issues with. Women, lust, relationships. I had not known that God had laid out a practical way to approach women, relationships, and how to respectfully and honorably approach women. It was so eye-opening, and I left with such a repentant heart. God was changing my life, my heart, my understanding, and my approach to Him, His Word, and His creation. God delivered me from those issues, and I haven’t been the same since.

I soon joined the church after a few weeks of being at City Life Church. City Life Church at the time had only been in existence since the summer of 2010, and I started coming later that fall of 2010. Pastor Chris began taking the time out his busy schedule to meet with me on a one-to-one basis taking me through the Purple Book, a Biblical foundations book. I also started meeting with the campus minister, Jermain Philps, at the time.

This helped me to establish strong foundations in my faith and challenged me on so many levels. The greatest thing about this experience was that I was experiencing discipleship by two men, complete strangers just a few months prior, something I had never experienced, let alone, by a pastor and full-time campus missionary who became friends and who I could finally confide in freely. This was hugely freeing for me and the feelings of loneliness began to fade and fall away.

I got involved with the worship team at City Life Church, and Pastor Chris entrusted me with so much because he saw so much in me that I was trying to deny was there. It was incredible timing because unbeknownst to me, the current piano player at the church was not going to be playing on the team. I literally stepped in and started playing piano with the team the very next week that the former player took a seat. I grew exponentially while on this team, as I had never used chord charts or played with an entire band before. I knew how to play piano, but I did not know a lick of music theory nor could I read music. God began to work miracles in my life and I began learning how to read and learn music theory. Things just started to make sense in my mind that was just beyond explanation. Today, I serve as City Life Church’s music director, leading our band.

As I began walking in this newness of life, God led me to befriend a particular woman in the church, who also happened to be on the worship team as one of the vocalists. For the first time in years, as I made friends with this young lady, the only thing I could do was think of how amazing God was and how much time He spent crafting such a beautiful specimen. And that is where the thoughts stopped as there were no emotional or physical responses in my body happening at the time. I was not attracted to this woman in the physical, and this was different for me. This was so freeing for me, and I knew that God had truly changed my heart.

It was not until soon after that God began warming my heart for this young lady. I was puzzled by it, so I quickly approached Pastor Chris about it, and was open with absolutely everything as I knew I needed all the wise counsel I could get. After some time, my fondness for this lady grew, we became friends, and discovered a mutual attraction for one another. We did things right, the way that brought honor to God, to each other, and God impressed upon my heart that Alethea Ruth Dillman, was going to be my wife and become Alethea Ruth Savannah. We got married in October of 2012 and have just celebrated a wonderful 5 years of marriage and have two amazing, handsome and smart boys.

My journey continues, but there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the day I ran into Pastor Chris Pate and Pastor Peter Dusan on my college campus, as they activated their faith by going and seeking. Pastor Chris discipled me and has helped shaped me into the man I am today. He has been like a father to me, and I am forever grateful for all he has invested in me and sacrificed for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel going forth. That day on campus was the beginning of my new life. I cannot fathom how things would be if I had ignored them and kept right on walking to the life that I so desperately wanted to get away from. This is my story of how Every Nation Campus Ministries reached a guy like me and how it was the start of a new beginning.

PRAYER

God, how can I take part in your great commission? Because of Jesus, I can walk in confidence and boldness to stand as a witness to others as I GO and make disciples. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!