I first took the ministry’s Foundational Class when I was twelve years old. Ever since that class, I have had the joy to stand with this ministry. Many of the concepts taught in that class were not new to me, as I had been taught them from birth. Growing up in the ministry has been a profound advantage to me in that I learned to walk according to the Word of God, and it just became my way of life. Tithing and abundant sharing are just natural and logical practices for me. Giving and serving others are just what I’ve learned to do. I have always had my needs met. I haven’t always earned a lot of money, but we’ve never gone hungry and we’ve never not been able to pay our rent on time. We, as a family, have believed God to meet our needs, and He ALWAYS has.
I remember as a child, our family had need of a new car. Dad got us together, we talked about what we needed and wanted the car to have, we prayed about it, and within a few days we had exactly what we said we needed plus a few extra things we hadn’t thought about. That was how life was for us. We believed God to meet all our needs, and He did so without fail.
As an adult, we received news that my wife was diagnosed with cancer. The nurse that gave us the news was surprised when we didn’t seem shocked, scared, or devastated when she told us, like most of her patients were. We simply told her that we believed that God would take care of my wife, so there was no reason to be alarmed. Today she is cancer free.
The numerous classes and teachings we have heard over the years have put us in a position to help others and to serve God’s people. We have been household fellowship coordinators, we’ve been Branch coordinators, we’ve worked on The Way International Staff; and at each position we have felt that we were called to carry out that particular responsibility. We did each one with joy and all the love of God that we could put into it, and God has blessed us at every turn.
We told a young man about our approaching anniversary. He said, “Congratulations, what’s your secret?” I replied that with God at the center of the family, everyone is on the same page, believing together, and life is GREAT! I can’t think of a better way to live, nor would I want to try to live any other way.