Testimony Tuesday #6 | Kendra D.
Rantoul CofC | December 20, 2022
[Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” Acts 18:26
I am no Apollos, but I identify with what the Bible tells us about him. My family were every-Sunday Methodists. I don’t ever remember a time I didn’t believe that God was real or that Jesus was His son who saves us. My parents had me “baptized” as a baby, which in my experience, people did for the purpose of dedicating their children to God publicly, making a promise to ensure the child’s Christian upbringing. By age 15, I had served as an acolyte, taught Sunday school, participated in countless church programs, and had been confirmed, meaning I learned the history of the Methodist church and made a public confession to follow Jesus. I even participated in an evangelical drama called “Heaven’s Gates, Hell's Flames,” a series of skits intended to scare people into “accepting Jesus into their hearts” at the final altar call. I lost count of the number of times I personally prayed that Jesus would “come into my heart and save me.”
But around the age of 10 my aunt began bringing me with her occasionally to Wednesday evening Bible studies with the church she was a part of. I began noticing differences in what the Bible plainly taught, and what I believed and practiced. My aunt was patient and persistent, and I attended more and more Bible studies with her, each time learning “the way of God more accurately,” for I only knew the baptism of the Methodists, which, like John’s baptism in the case of Apollos, did not wash away sins.
I became more and more convicted of my sin and more and more doubtful of my own idea of salvation. In August 1998, I was baptized into Jesus at age 16, fully convinced that I needed to change more than just my mind. I had never repented and never been taught what faithful living truly looked like. Since then, Jesus has been faithful and patient with me as I do my best to truly follow His example.
