To say this church changed my life is not an exaggeration. Of course, it was God, but, as I have come to learn in the last few months of my life, God uses his church, his people, as his hands and feet.
I grew up in a Christian home but walked away from the Lord about 13 years ago, thinking I could walk out my faith outside of fellowship, and, eventually, that isolation destroyed my faith. When I walked into CityLight last February, it had been almost 13 years since I had felt the desire to attend a church. And, if I'm honest, I don't even know why I went. I guess partying had run its course, and, I knew some changes had to be made. But I was pretty numb emotionally and pretty hard hearted and all I really wanted was a little "splash" of spirituality. I was working a lot of hours as an attorney, and, drinking and partying was about the only way I knew to manage stress and the sense of meaninglessness in my life.
When I entered the service, music was playing and people were worshipping. Some had their hands raised, others had their eyes closed. I sat toward the back to try to be anonymous. But something started to happen. I started crying ... seemingly for no reason. But it felt good, so, I thought, "God, if this is you, don't stop." I closed my eyes and began to feel the presence of God and the love of God, tangibly, like a warm hug. I couldn't stop crying, but, somehow I knew that things were changing for me and it was good. I didn't have to do anything. I just sat there and received the love of God as it seemed wave after wave washed over me.
A short sermon followed, and then another time of worship and prayer, and, I found myself moving to the front to worship with other attendees who had moved forward to dance or worship more freely. Several people seemed to sense what was happening to me (or saw my tear streaked face) and asked if they could pray with me. I could literally feel stress and depression lifting off of me, like someone had taken a blindfold off my eyes and a bag of rocks off my back. I knew I had met with Jesus and that things would never be the same.
From that day until now, almost 9 months have past. My initially skeptical girlfriend, received Jesus' love and forgiveness a short while after my experience and was similarly delivered from addictive behaviors and depression. Our bruised relationship has been healed and restored to a healthy friendship and we are planning to be married soon. My son, also, received Jesus' love and forgiveness and one of the highlights of his week now is attending church and worshipping. This stuff is real and it's powerful and it's RADICALLY LIFE CHANGING! The people of CityLight have become our spiritual family and have loved us, prayed for us, encouraged us and counseled us every step of the way.
Pastors Bojan, Mo and Mike, thank you for your transparency, your humility, you hunger for God and your availability to the people you serve so well.
And to the people of CityLight, my family. I love you with my whole heart. Thank you for welcoming us with open arms, for loving us, for showing us God's tremendous grace. I can't wait to see what God does with us next! read more
