You could say my journey to the World Race began long ago at my childhood church. I was raised in a traditional baptist church. The lead pastor was the late Dr. L. Charles Bennett, a spiritual father and good friend. Dr. Bennett was my first experience with a man of God. Truth be told I idolized him, and believed he was the most righteous man I ever met. At the tender age of eight I decided to join the church officially and get baptized. Dr. Bennett baptized me, at the age of twelve I confessed to him that I thought I was being called into the ministry. He told me to live a little bit more to make sure I was sure. I watched this man leave a church because praise and worship wasn’t accepted and they disagreed with his preaching style. My mother and I followed him as he started the Dayspring Community Church, a non-denominational church. Dr. Bennett was the first to teach me how to raise my hands to humble myself before the Lord, he also took me to ministry conferences in Atlanta, a city I somehow knew I would call home one day, finally he taught me what true wealth was, it couldn’t be found in riches but only a real relationship with God. His former wife Rev. Cynthia Turner was also a big part of my early life, she was a women after God’s own heart, the only female minster I had a close relationship with. Her kindness and gentleness knew no boundaries. Ernest Hickerson the youth pastor at Dayspring had an impact on me as well. He was the first minister to tell me that he wasn’t perfect growing up, in fact he was far from it, he shared details about his life before ministry that help me to this day as I am tested by various trials. Countless others loved me at Dayspring, in fact the people of this church spoke my life into existence. They could see a preacher before I knew who I was, they challenged me more than the other youth of the church to go higher toward Christ. I always felt a burden to do something big in life.
Once I came to Atlanta for the first time in 2001 I completely stopped going to church, I was determined to live life on my own terms, very much like the prodigal son. I drank, smoked weed, stole, and had random premarital sex. I was on a downward spiral and every step I took away from God numbed my soul more. I was in trouble and didn’t know it. After being arrested and let go because of a lack of evidence I eventually failed out of Morehouse and returned home as a loser. It took my awhile but I eventually returned to Morehouse to complete what I started. When I returned I went to New Birth Missionary Church, and decided to be involved in the college ministry. This was my first real attempt own my own to step back closer towards God, the youth whom I went to church with tried there best to love on me but I was very distant and made it difficult to get close to me, or know me at all. I honestly didn’t feel worthy of their friendship. Years went by and I finished Morehouse, with prayers helping me along the way from Dayspring to New Birth.
After I graduated from Morehouse I felt like I had hit a plateau and I wasn’t sure where to climb next, I eventually lost my restaurant job and decided to try something new. For the first time in life I volunteered and it made a world of difference. I volunteered at Meals on Wheels, delivering food to seniors and assisting with the day care for seniors with dementia, a disease that crippled my grandmother in the last years of her life. Not only did I volunteer I took it upon myself to start going to a new church called Impact. With the new spirit of volunteering in my blood I took it to the max at Impact, I decided that I was going to try my hardest to be there number one volunteer, and that everyone in the church would know me. Carolyn Poling and Tolton Pace are the youth leaders and I learned an awful lot from them by watching them work. Carolyn even announced during a sermon that I would be going on the World Race. Impact was and is a great church, it was hard for me to leave Atlanta because of them, I learned so much from the leaders of Impact including the lead pastor Olu Brown. It would take forever for me to list all the new friends and mentors I made at Impact.
Why am I saying all of this??
Gods plan for us is bigger than we can imagine, and when you look back on your life everything that has happened is part of His divine will. I believe the people who loved on me were guide post leading me towards the world race and beyond, teaching me lessons and protecting me from pot holes. As I push for the world race I am reminded of all the people who loved and still do love me.
Now that I am back in the Washington, DC area I have started attending Dayspring again with the goal of being their number one volunteer, I don’t know where the road will go next but I am excited about the journey, Impact has prepared me to be a better volunteer and youth leader. As I save money for the World Race and pray that my sponsors continue to support I imagine the people that God has waiting for me out in the mission fields. Its a scary and exciting thought, I thank God for the opportunity to go and I thank you for reading this entry, please continue to support me financially if you already are. If you haven’t contributed financially I pray God gives you the will and means.
#livewell
